Slender Adventures 2 Gemm's Revenge
by percyjacksonforevah
Summary: Crystal is back with some old and new friends. But, what comes with these new friends are some new villains as well. As all the villains Crystal has ever known team up, she expirences new things, too. Will she be able to break Gemm free of the curse, or will she suffer life alone?


Slender Adventures 2

Gemm's Revenge

By: Lauren

A Creepy pasta & Nightmare Before Christmas Fan Fiction

:D

**Prologue**

As I was heading down to the old _Slender Hideout_ for one last time before I headed off, I realized there was going to be a lot of cleaning involved.

"I'm going to miss this old place," I said. "With everybody here and us having the parties…"

"Yeah," Gemm chimed in. "And this is the place where so many things happened. I miss all are old friends like the twins and Za-"

"DON'T EVEN MENTION HIS NAME!" I screamed at her.

"Whoa there," 'Nathan' said. "No need to get mad."

"Sorry," I said. "It's just… That guy was such a pet peeve…"

"Yeah," 'Greg' said. "That's why we pulled the pranks on him. Ah… good times…"

"Time's we'll never forget," Emma told us. "And I can't wait to start new ones at our collage!"

So, if you haven't guessed, we finally got our Creepy pasta BFs into collage. While Emma, Sarah, Fern, 'Fred', 'Luke' and 'John' are heading to New York, Gemm, 'Greg', 'Nathan' and I are heading to Pennsylvania. I always wondered what it looked like there, and Philadelphia sounded like a cool city. At least my roomies aren't going to be so bad… or at least I don't think they are. I just hoped that Laura and Emily are as cool as they seem, and they seemed nice online. At least Gemm will be a roomie that I can always look to for help.

"Hey," I whispered to Gemm as we're cleaning up. "You don't think our roomies are going to be… well… selfish or rude or-"

"Hey," Gemm interrupted. "We'll just have to play it by ear. At least their BFs are staying in the same room as 'Nathan' and 'Greg', so if they are nice, we can at least all go out together!"

That was true. Laura is with Jake and Emily is with Brody. They sounded like really nice people, anyway, and they couldn't wait to room with us.

"That is a good part of it," 'Greg' eventually said to break my thoughts. "So we can all hang out more."

"True, true," 'Nathan' said. "And at least 'Kyle' is not with us…"

We were all glad of that. 'Kyle', 'Nathan's' annoying older brother, was always a pain in the neck to keep track of. Also, when he gets angry, he starts to flip out. Yeah, he's not a good person to have in a dorm.

"Well," I finally said to break the awkward silence. "Let's get this place cleaned up and be glad we did the bus yesterday!"

The cleaning only took a few minutes to do, and it wasn't long before the whole place was sparkling clean.

"Goodbye, old hideout," I said as we left.

The only thing I left hanging was the mistletoe from a few Christmases ago. The reason I left it up was because it was the mistletoe I gave for 'Nathan' the one year, and it resulted in our first official kiss. We always had left it up there so that way it can always remind us of that wonderful year.

As Gemm and I headed out of the forest for the very last time, we were talking about how we should decorate our dorm. We both agreed that we decorate our side the same so that we're not split. We eventually decided in a mix between music and animals, since those are two of our favorite things. We also agreed on a royal blue for the color, since I wouldn't agree on anything besides a bluish color and Gemm liked darker shades. As I went home, I packed things in my light blue truck and got ready for the next day.

"It's going to be a long drive," I said to my mother as I went in. "About an hour ways out. Longest I've ever driven…"

"Maybe I should drive you," she asked. "Since it's such a long-"

"I'm fine," I interrupted her. "I'll be fine. My friends are going with me, and they'll help me."

I then gave her a hug since I knew she would miss me. I then headed up into my empty room and took out the music from my desk to take with me. _This should come in handy,_ I thought as I hold up the pages and pages of music. _Since I'm going for a famous music writer, I'd better have these with me just in case they ever wanted to see these…_ It was actually my famous piece, _Slender Woods_, which got me into this collage. It was hard to get the guys in, but they're really smart so it wasn't that hard. With Gemm trying to be a trainer for gymnastics, she got in well. I then looked at the pages again and put them gently into one of the suitcases. I then kept packing up until I eventually went to bed. That night, I dreamt about the whole drive there and the fun we'll have. I also thought about how our roomies are going to be like. Then, once I woke up, I got ready with the only outfit left in the closet and said goodbye to my cat, Zimmy, and my mother.

"Be safe," she told me.

"You too," I said. "And are you sure you're okay by yourself? Zimmy's going to the mansion to stay there…"

"I'll be fine," she said. "Just have fun at your new school, Crystal!"

**Chapter One**

_New School, New Room Mates_

"Okay guys, you ready?" I asked everyone in the car.

"I think so," Gemm said as she was sitting next to 'Greg' in the back.

"Then let's go!" 'Nathan' said, who was sitting as co-pilot.

I then hit the gas pedal and we were off, bumping around in the big truck and started to listen to some music from the car's radio system. The drive was long, but it was fun with us talking and joking the whole entire way. We even got to see some of the city as we drove into the unfamiliar state. It was nothing like I imagined. The whole place was huge, but not as big as New York. I couldn't wait to cruise around the city and see what they had there for their stores. After seeing half an hour of buildings, we finally got to the collage gates and headed in.

"Okay guys," I said. "We're here!"

Both Gemm and 'Greg' were asleep in the back, but 'Nathan' was amazed at how huge the collage was. The whole place was gigantic, and it was the biggest collage I had ever seen. We then drove to where our dorms were, and headed in the same building. Though our rooms are in different hallways, we were very close to each other and it was easy to get from one room to the next. I then took the room key and left the boys behind as Gemm and I searched for room B106. It only took a little bit until we found it, and the door was already opened wide.

"Um, hello?" I asked. "Anyone here?"

Just then, a young girl with golden hair and hazel eyes poked her head out from the opening.

"Oh, hey!" she said. "I'm Laura. You must be…"

"I'm Crystal," I said, and then pointed to my friend. "And this is Gemm."

"Oh, right," she spoke as she smiled. "It's a pleasure to meet you!"

We shook hands, and I asked about Emily.

"Oh," Laura exclaimed. "She's not here yet. Care to join me while we wait?"

"We need to get our bags," Gemm said. "And set up our side of the room."

"Oh, you'll be on the same side?" she asked.

"Yeah," I said. "We've been friends since elementary school!"  
"Oh, cool. Anyway, I guess Emily will sleep with me. Oh, we're going to have so much fun!"

"I can't wait," Gemm told her, and we walked down to get our bags.

"She seems nice," I said.

"Yeah," Gemm said back. "And I hope Emily is, too."

"She was really cheery," I told her. "But I like her personality. I guess Jake is here, too. I suspect they drove down together."

When we headed out the building, we saw 'Greg' and 'Nathan' already by the car.

"Oh," 'Greg' said. "Is anyone in your room yet?"

"Laura is," I said. "Why? No one in yours?"

"Only Jake," 'Nathan' told us. "But we suspected that the two of them drove down together.

"That's what I thought, too!" I said. "Since they're BF and GF…"

We then grabbed our first bags and headed up. As we unpacked, Gemm and I began to decorate the side of the room with music note wall stickers and puppy posters. We also hanged up a bit of navy blue flower designs and streamers.

"Wow," Laura said. "Looks like you're having a party over there!"

Both Gemm and me just laughed, and we kept putting up the décor. We then kept making trips back to the car and kept designing the walls and desks. The beds in the dorm were on opposite walls on each side of the room. The only thing separating each side was a row of desks for us to use, and closets were on the walls with the windows. We also got a little welcome gift, which was a small lamp to use when reading or for the dark. Gemm and I then headed down to the car for the last time to grab the last few items. When we came back into the dorm, we set up a navy blue beanbag chair and a mini refrigerator. We stocked it with food and put our clothing away in the empty closets, making them full. As I hooked up my laptop to one of the desks, we heard a knock at the door.

"I'll get it," Laura said, and ran to the door.

"It's probably not Emily," I said. "Otherwise she'd have the key and would've walked right in."

When our roomie opened the door, she greeted her BF, Jake, and 'Nathan' in.

"What are you doing here?" I asked my BF.

"Nice setup," he said. "And we have a slight problem with electricity in our room…"

"Oh goodness," I said. "What happened?"

"It wasn't any of us!" he told me. "The power went out in our room."

"And only in your room?" I asked.

"The whole hallway's dark," Jake said. "I can't even see when I walk in it!"

Jake was a nice guy, and I could see why Laura likes him. He definitely showed that he worked out, since he had the muscles and everything. He also had very blond hair and had green eyes, like a cat. He also had a nice smile, and looked like the perfect match for Laura.

"You're not afraid of the dark, are ya?" Laura teased him. "I'm sure a big football player like you wouldn't be…"

Well, that explained why he was so burly. He then gave a hardy laugh and said "Me? Afraid of the dark? Never!"

"Uh, I would think otherwise," 'Nathan' said. "I mean, you were screaming like crazy when the lights went out."

"It just surprised me," Jake chuckled, and Laura hugged him tight.

"Okay…" I said. "Anyway, where the heck is Emily?"

"Beats me," Jake said. "Anyway, shouldn't we wait for her to come to tell them?"

"Yes," Laura replied. "I think we should."

"Tell us what?" I asked.

"You'll see," she said. "You'll see…"

About 20 minutes later, Emily finally arrived with Brody. Emily was black-haired and had blue eyes that were a bit darker than mine. She was a bit more chilled than Laura, but she seemed like one of those Rock-n'-Roll chicks with her personality. Brody, on the other hand, looked just like Jake, but with black hair and dark brown eyes.

"There you are!" Laura said. "Should we rest before we tell them?"

"Yep," Emily said. "Just let me get my things set up…"

It only took a bit before Emily had her things set up and looking all gothic and ostentatious. She did like Rock-n'-Roll, too, and loved all black and purple things.

"Okay," I said. "So, what's this secret you have?"

"Maybe we should say ours first…" Gemm told us. "Since 'Greg' is now here."

Gemm's BF was just coming into the room to tell us the lights were back on, and we cached him up with everything.

"We're not going to tell them, are we?" he said after we decided to tell ours first. "I thought it was something for just us…"

"Oh, c'mon," I said. "What's the harm? Just shut the doors and windows so that no one else sees."

"Yeah," 'Nathan' joined in. "That'll be much better so that it's not… well… let me rephrase that. It will help with anyone trying to look in the windows and stop people from walking in…"

"Oh," Laura said. "Well, you heard them! It'll help with ours, too!"

We then closed the shades and locked the door. Now it was the real deal. No one could run away, and no one could jump out the window that let to a foot drop, since we were on the ground level.

"Okay," I said. "Guys, reveal yourself!"

It only took them a second to change back into Slendy and Jeff. The others just stared at us, unable to speak.

"You mean," Laura began to say. "That your BFs are the Slender man and Jeff the Killer?"

Both Gemm and I nodded, and we saw the smiles on Laura and Emily's faces.

"Oh, this makes everything better!" Emily said, as she ran up to hug Jeff and Laura ran up to hug Slendy.

"Uh," I said, breaking Laura away from my BF. "He's **mine**!"

"Oh, sorry," she told us. "We are such big fan girls of Creepy pasta!"

"Oh, cool," I said. "Finally, someone who won't scream and run away when they see these two!"

They both then changed back, and Emily let go of 'Greg'. She was disappointed at first, but then she went back to hugging her BF.

"Okay," I said. "Now you guys give in."

"The girls first," Brody said. "Since we'll save the best for last."

"I'll go first!" Laura told us, and went into a bag to grab out a giant box.

She then set the box on her bed and opened it, revealing a large, but unusual, sewing kit. The thing that made it weird was that it had little dolls in it that all had pinpoints in them, and she had many little machines that looked like miniature torcher tools.

"Are these…" Gemm began to say.

"Yep," Laura said. "Voodoo dolls."

"Whoa," I gasped as I picked one of them up. "Do these actually work?"

"Yep," she said, and grabbed one that looked like Brody. "Now, Brody, you aren't just playing along when I do THIS!"

She then pulled the arm on the doll as we watch Brody's arm get magically pulled. He then cried in pain as we watch Emily come and comfort her BF.

"Please don't make one of us…" I whispered in fear, and Laura shook her head.

"I don't really do this anymore," she said. "Unless I really have to or for a really good reason."

"Like when you made the one teacher give us no homework," Emily said.

"Ah, yes," Laura sighed. "Good times…"

"Anyway," 'Greg' said, looking at Emily. "What's your secret?"

The girl then came forward and opened her mouth. Inside, we saw the huge fangs appear out of nowhere. She then closed her mouth and turned into a bat, flying onto Brody's arm.

"Oh, you're a vampire," 'Nathan' said. "But how come you don't burn in sunlight?"

"I'm a special type," she told us. "Only some types of vampires do that."

"There are different types?" I asked.

"Yep," she answered. "I'm a daylight type, so daylight doesn't bother me."

"Oh," I gasped, amazed at this new fact. "Good to know."

"So, can you bite people?" Gemm asked her.

"Again, I'm not that type of vampire," she said. "I do like fruit, though…"

"Okay," I said. "Now for the guys."

"Uh," Brody said. "I guess we'll do it together…"

The boys then hid behind the bed, and when they popped out, they were totally different. Brody became a boy with a brown hoodie on and had a blue mask, but the mask was blank except for the black eyes that looked like the paint was streaming down from it. Jake, on the other hand, looked like Brody but had a white mask on that had a mouth and regular black eyes. His hood wasn't up, though, but he still looked as freaky as Brody did.

"Guys," Laura told us. "Meet Eyeless jack and Masky!"

**Chapter Two**

_More Creepy Pastas?_

"Masky? E.J.?" 'Nathan' began to say. "Where the heck have you guys been?"  
"Sorry, master," the white-masked one said. "We were busy with the council and Hoodie had me do stuff again…"

"Uh, Masky," 'Greg' said. "What are we going to do with you?"

Okay, so the one in the white mask was Masky, and the blue masked one was Eyeless Jack, or E.J., and 'Nathan' somehow knows these two.

"How do you know them?" Gemm finally asked.

"Masky was my old assistant," 'Nathan' said. "Back in the old killing days when I didn't have a mouth…"

"You didn't have a mouth?" I asked. "When did you get one?"

"Long story," he said. "Anyway, Masky had to translate for me so that I could speak, which is where I got my demonic voice. E.J., on the other hand, was just one of 'Greg's' old friends until he went to see the human world…"

"Which was totally fun!" E.J. said.

"Anyway," 'Greg' continued for us. "Hoodie is one of the other workers for 'Nathan'. He and Masky were always the ones that made me go insane!"  
"That must've been fun," I said. "So then they just left the one day?"

"Yep," E.J. answered. "Hoodie is still with the council, which is where we were the whole time except this year when we met these lovely girls…"

E.J. was obviously talking about Emily and Laura, who then both blush by E.J.'s compliments.

"Aw, E.J., stop it!" Emily said, and the boys then turned back.

"Should I show them my-" I began to say.

"Sure," 'Nathan' said. "For they know the prophecy…"

I then lifted the sleeve to show my mark. The others gasped at its glowing wonder and I began to do some of my magic.

"Oh, great," Gemm sarcastically said. "Now I'm the only girl in here with no powers or special abilities…"

"Hey, c'mon now," 'Brody' said. "You've got some amazing friends at least!"  
"Yeah," she said shyly. "I do…"

"C'mon," I said. "Let's go out somewhere to eat!"

We all headed out to a little Italian restaurant that had all homemade food in it. It was a lovely meal, and we got to talk to the new roomies more. We were laughing as we were joking around, and then came time for desert.

"Ooooo," 'Jake' said. "We should get cheesecake!"  
"Oh great," Laura sarcastically stated. "More cheesecake. Just what we needed."

"If you can't guess," Emily whispered to us. "The two of them _love_ cheesecake."

"Me too," I said, and I began looking at the menu with the two football guys. "Let's get a slice of this one…"

We then picked out a regular cheesecake and we all dug into it. My mouth was watering as I picked my way through and mounted a whole pile of it on my plate. As I ate the delicious cake, we began to joke around about old teachers and a whole bunch of different things.

"I can't believe these guys are so nice," I whispered to 'Nathan'.

"Yeah," he whispered back. "Especially around the cake. Usually one of them would go crazy or something…"

"Hey…" a whisper came from below the table, and I bent down to see E.J. "What're you guys talking about?"

"What the… DUDE!" I yelled at him, and he bumped his head as he sat back up and changed back into 'Brody'.

"Ha-ha!" Emily giggled. "You're such the comedian, 'Brody'!"

I just rolled my eyes and giggled as well.

"I knew something was going to happen," 'Nathan' whispered at me.

"You know them all too well," I told him.

"Yeah," he said. "At least Hoodie and Jane aren't here with us!"

"Oh goodness sakes!" 'Greg' exclaimed. "Jane and Hoodie are together now?"

"Yep," 'Nathan' said. "Your enemy and one of your friend's friends are going out together!"

"Oh, I remember reading up on Jane," I said. "Wasn't she an old friend of yours?"

"Please stop talking," 'Greg' said.

"Don't listen to him," 'Nathan' whispered in my ear. "He defiantly wants more…"

I laughed as I said, "And I'm sure the two are very happy together…"

"Oh, c'mon, Crystal," Gemm told me. "Stop it!"

"What?" I said. "Too much for ya?"

"Dude!" Emily said. "Listen to your friends now!"

"Alright," I told them. "Just kidding, just kidding!"  
"Well," 'Greg said. "She is right. Jane was an old friend until I somehow startled her. The she kept fighting me until she became what she is now!"

"Jeesh," Laura complained. "So many new Creepy pastas!"

"Well," Emily said. "Jeff and Slendy aren't new, unless you're talking about just met…"

"Both," the roomie said. "Since there are so many out there!"

"Yeah," 'Jake' joined her. "At least Seedeater isn't with us right now…"

"What?" I asked.

"Oh," he said. "Just someone else I know…"

When we started to head back to our dorms, the guys broke off to go watch a collage game that's going on. When us girls came back into the room, we then began to get ready for the next day at school.

"I can't wait to start," I said. "I want to see how my classes go for becoming a music writer."

"Oh, I'm becoming a tech-Ed teacher," Laura told us. "I enjoy technology a lot, and I love teaching, too!"  
"I'm becoming a gymnastics coach," Gemm chimed in.

"And I'm becoming a music teacher," Emily told us. "Mostly to teach guitarist or drummers, since I'm into that stuff…"

We then went to bed to be ready for the next day of school, and I couldn't wait for the morning sun to rise up and the buzzing of my alarm to awake me from my midnight sleep and get ready for a wonderful school day. As I drifted off, I then realized that I had begun to miss my cat, Zimmy, and having him sleep with me. I then woke up and tried to find something to help me, when I saw Emily come up next to me.

"What are you doing up?" I asked her.

"As the same to you," she said back. "I have to stay up during the night, otherwise I feel tired in the morning."

"I'm a little homesick," I said. "I miss my cat…"

"You had a cat?" she asked.

"Well, it was Slendy's cat, but I-"

"Whoa," Emily said. "You are the owner of Zimmy now?"

"How'd you know about Zimmy?" I asked her.

"E.J. told me about him. Anyway, I know that it's hard to leave a pet behind. I had to get rid of a little cat when I was a kid, and I was heartbroken…"

I smiled at the vampire as she handed me something.

"This is for you," she said. "I just had it here because I couldn't leave it in my room. I was going to give it away, but I guess you can use it…"

"Thanks," I said. "It looks just like him…"

I then took the soft plush cat in my arms and set it down at my side.

"Hope that'll help," Emily told me. "Anyway, get some sleep, okay?"

"Okay," I said, and I drifted off into a deep sleep.

The next morning I woke up and got ready to go down to the cafeteria with the girls and meet the guys there.

"Oh, nice outfit," Laura said. "And I realized that Emily gave you her little cat, too?"

"You missed Zimmy, didn't you?" Gemm asked me.

"Yeah," I sighed. "Emily gave me this when I woke up from being homesick. It helped me a whole lot."

"Course it did," the vampire said. "It's suppose to help you…"

I smiled at her and thanked her again, and then we headed down to the café. When we got there, we saw that the guys were already in there, and they saved us a seat at the table.

"What are you doing down here so early?" I asked them.

"Stupid electricity," 'Jake' said. "All the alarms went off at once, so we decided to head down…"

"That must've sucked," Gemm spoke. "Must be a problem in your room…"

"We should help," I said. "Since I'm good at this kind of stuff, and I'm sure the other girls will help, too."

"Uh, no, no, no, no, no," 'Nathan' said. "We're not letting anybody but us go in there…"

"Why?" Laura asked.

"It's like a bomb exploded off in there," 'Brody' said.

"Yeah," 'Greg' chimed in. "A clothing bomb…"

"Oh goodness," I said. "What's next? The toilet won't work?"

"That already happened," 'Jake' told us. "One too many times, actually."

All of us girls just sighed, shaking our heads.

"Well, is there anything good to eat?" Gemm asked.

"There's some cinnamon rolls and doughnuts up there," 'Greg' responded. "But other than that, the rest is pretty much stale."

As my roomies and I headed up to get food, I realized that the place was pretty empty. Though the stuff we bought was cheep, the food price was exorbitant. No wonder nobody was there! As we headed back to the table, I told the others about what I noticed.

"It is really empty," 'Nathan' said. "Where is everyone?"

The place was silent. The only people there were we ourselves. Not even the cafeteria ladies or any adults were with us.

"Okay…" I said. "This is strange…"

As we ate our lunches, we kept talking so the awkward silence wasn't there. When we got out of the building, we realized that it wasn't just the café that was empty. The streets were bare, too, and not a single car drove by on any street.

"This is all too strange," Laura whispered to us. "Usually it's hard to find a quiet place around this area, unless you're in your own house. There's probably an event or something going on…"

We then walked to the collage square where most people would be and where the classes are located, but even they were empty. We then found a professor, and we asked her what was going on.

"Classes are canceled today," she said. "Everyone was told to stay in his or her dorms until instructed."

"But," Emily spoke up. "We never got any instructions. We were at the café and-"

"Oh," the teacher looked at us. "You missed the announcement. Glad that I told you before you went into an empty classroom…"

She them muttered something, and she walked away. We decided to do as she told us and go back in our dorms. When we finally reached the building, we got inside and headed down the long hallways until we reached our room.

"Maybe it's better if we stay in here," I told the girls. "Until we realize that people are coming out…"

"I thought that's what we were originally doing?" Gemm asked. "Besides waiting for other people to come out…"

We then turned on the news and waited for anything to tell us to get back to our normal lives. As we were flipping through the channels, I noticed something.

"Hold on," I said, grabbing the remote. "I saw something…"

As I began to flip back, I saw the picture again. I then stopped flipping and kept the channel on.

"What in the world?" Laura exclaimed. "Is that close to us?"

As we watched the screen, we saw what looked like a shooting in a city. We were 100% sure it wasn't a movie or a show, for the expressions on the people's faces were so real that I couldn't act out any of that.

"OMG!" Laura screamed. "That's right in Philly! I know that place!"

"Me too!" Emily screeched. "And now the building's on fire!"

We just stared in horror at the screen, unable to move. We then heard a knock at the door and Laura went to open it. We realized that it was the guys, and they were in total shock.

"Our lights went out again," 'Brody' said. "And ARE YOU SEEING THIS?"

"Uh, hello? Yeah we are!" Emily told them, pointing at the screen.

"It's right around the museums," 'Jake' said. "And at least that place isn't on fire and has a criminal shooting a gun in it!"

"But isn't this the one clothing store right next to the one eatery?"

"Yep," 'Brody' said. "And that's not good at all…"

Of course, I had no idea what they were talking about, but I knew it was making them worried, so it was probably bad.

"What do we do now?" I asked them. "Just sit here and wait?"

"I'm afraid so," 'Nathan' told me. "For there's nothing we can do…"

As we watched the screen, I felt horrible and scared. _Jeesh, _I thought. _This is as scary as the Proxy hunters! What next? A giant lizard trying to kill us all?_ Okay, last night I watched the movie _Godzilla_ about five times because it was for a class to study the music in the background. The movie was so boring after the third time that it just got stuck in my head. At least it's not as enchanting as Tim Burton movies!

"Maybe it'll all be over soon," Laura hoped.

"I don't know," Emily said. "Could be hours, maybe even days before anything happens…"

**Chapter Three**

_The Horrible News_

"Uh, what?" I asked. "Hours? Days? Are you nuts? It's not going to take **that** long! It should be any minute now before the cops show up and Taser him. I mean, the news crew is already there!"

"Maybe she's right," Laura comforted Emily. "I think you're just a little worried, that's all…"

"Maybe so," Emily said. "But I'm not freaking out! I'm just predicting, that's all…"

"Maybe I should do something," Laura said as she began to take out her sewing kit. "If I can make a quick and easy doll, then I can stop this right away!"

"That's brilliant!" I told her. "May I help?"  
"I'm sorry," she answered. "But this requires special magic to do."

"Okay," I told her. "I understand. I don't want to ruin it!"

She then took out a piece to yarn and began to sew and knit. She worked hard and  
fast, until it was done in just a couple of minutes.

"Okay," she said. "Maybe I should try this…"

She than began to tug on the arm just a little bit, and we can clearly see that the doll was working on the screen.

"Tug it harder," Emily said. "Make him drop the gun!"

Laura then began to tug a little bit harder until the gun slipped out of the man's hand. We then heard a whole commotion of cheering from the other rooms as he went to bend over, but was caught by the police. They then cuffed him, and the firemen were already there to put the fire out.

"Woooo hooo!" We all cheered.

"Awesome!" I said. "We did it!"  
"It's always good to have these in handy," Laura told us as she packed the doll away in the kit. "I'll destroy it later, since I won't need it now."

We then began to rush out of the dorms and join the mob of people that were rushing to their classes. I broke off from the others and headed down to the building where my class was taking place, only to find that the teacher we met before was the professor of the class.

"Good morning," she said as everyone came in. "My name is Professor Karen, and I'll be imparting this class."

I then settled down in the seat and took out my books. I then sat through the class for about a couple of hours, and then hit another class and another until finally I had a pile of homework to do and the sky was turning gray. As soon as I got in the dorm, I sat down at my desk and got my homework out to do right away. By the time I was done, I would barely even have an hour of sleep before I would just wake up again. So, since there was nothing better to do, I went on my laptop and saw if I got any emails. I was very pleased with what I found.

_Hey Crystal!_

_Hope you guys are doing fine up down there. There's nothing really going on up here, and our roommates aren't that nice. Jessica and Ryan are really bossy and stubborn. We haven't seen the other guys in days, since they're in another dorm building! I hope that we'll see them soon. Anyway, we all just wanted to say hi!_

_From,_

_Emma_

"Huh," I whispered. "Look at that. We made out better then they did!"

I then tried to rest up a bit, but it was pointless since there was only half an hour left before I have to be up. I then decided to get a change of clothes on now and start to get ready. It wasn't long before the others woke up and joined me. When I shared the message with them, I heard the giggling of Gemm.

"At least you guys are nice," she said.

"We like to be nice," Laura told us. "Why, if we weren't, we wouldn't have such great friends!"  
I smiled a bit as I went down for my second day of classes. At least the café wasn't bad this time, and at least we had people bustling in and out of the place. Since classes started earlier, I had more time to get my work done and to sleep then the day before. As the weeks went buy, it was closer to Halloween than we knew it!

"I'm going as a evil fairy," I told them. "What are you going as?"

"I'm going as myself," Emily told us. "It's the one holiday where I can let my fangs hang out and I can float around the place!"

"I'm going as Frankenstein's bride!" Laura said.  
"And I'm being a robot," Gemm told the girls.

"I heard the guys are going as zombies," I shared with the group. "Since they always go together."

"Like the year you guys were pirates!" Gemm said. "I never knew that there was such thing as a pirate princess!"

I giggled a bit, remembering that year. It was literally right before 'Nathan' had memory loss and I had my confession in front of Zimmy and Jeff.

"Anyways," I told them. "Are you excited to go on break?"

"You bet!" Laura said. "Only I wished it was longer than three days…"

At least today was a Saturday, so I had time to settle down and read the news.

"Maybe I should save this for all of us," I told them. "Just look at the first headline about a house burning down. It looks like something we should all read together!"

"Yeah," Gemm said. "It'd be better to do that then have you just retell it to us."

So, I dropped the newspaper and we headed outside to go to the city so that they could show us around. As soon as we grabbed the guys, we headed out for some fun. It only took a little bit to walk there, and as soon as we got in, I was dazzled at the sight.

"Where to head off first?" Emily thought. "Oh, I know, the museums are cool!"  
"But can we afford it?" Laura asked.

"It's free today!" the vampire said. "It's for some national history day thing. I don't know exactly why it is, but it's awesome!"

"I'm okay with it if you guys are," 'Brody' said, and the rest of us nodded. "Well, okay then. Let's go there before it gets crowded!"

After spending a couple of minutes to get there, I realized that there wasn't just one museum, but a whole bunch.

"You guys didn't tell us there was more than one!" 'Greg' said.

"They're all the Franklin Museum. This whole area is the Franklin Museum!" Laura told us.

"Wow," I gasped. "It's amazing!"

We then headed to each one for about two hours each, astonished by what we were seeing.

"How come we can't go in this one?" Gemm asked, pointing to the one building.

"Oh," Emily said. "That's for like, 7-year-olds and stuff like that."

"Oh," Gemm said back. "I don't think 7-year-olds are in collage…"  
We all laughed, and then skipped over the building and to the next one. After being in each building, we decided to head to other places. After heading to the liberty bell and all historic monuments, we went back to the collage just to get some work done.

"Hey," I said. "We do have all day tomorrow, so why not just spend the rest of the day today getting decorations for Halloween?"

"Yeah!" the rest of them chimed in.

"Should we get the guys?" Gemm asked.

"Nah," Laura answered. "Let's surprise them. They think we're doing work anyways, so they won't bug us. I'll lock the door."

After she did so, we ran out of the building and to the closest party store there was. As we headed in, we realized we hit the Halloween treasure!

"Wow," Gemm said. "This place has _everything_!"

"It's our favorite place to shop around here," Emily told us. "At least for party items, and we have a lot of parties together, don't we Laura?"  
"Yep," she smiled. "Yep we do."

We then gazed at the décor, amazed that they had so much stuff there. We then had Gemm grab a cart and we looked around for anything to put on our door or in our room.

"These cobwebs look cool," I spoke to the others. "And we can put these spiders in them!"

"Yeah!" Laura said. "Put them in the cart! They'll defiantly look so cool on our door!"  
"Too bad we can't afford one of these," Gemm said, eyeing up the animatronic reaper. "He would be a nice visitor for the cleaning ladies…"

"And where would we store him?" I asked. "Even if we did have the money!"

"I could always keep him in my room," Emily said. "Since my parents wont mind an extra house guest."

We were laughing as we thought about it, and then I saw the mini reaper.

"What about this little guy?" I said. "It's not as expensive, and it's really small, too, so it'll be good for storage!"

"Oh, it's so cute!" Laura gasped once she saw it. "I mean, how are reapers not awesome?"  
We then stuffed the little Grim Reaper in the cart, and looked around for anything we could get our hands on. We then walked out with spiders, cobwebs, the reaper, a candy bowl and some candy for it. When we got back to the building, the guys didn't even realize we were gone. As I set the little reaper down on one of the desks, the girls began to take out some other decorations for the door. I then went to help then string up the webs and put the spiders in them. We got four big spiders and many little plastic ones. We each got a big spider to put by the nametags. Mine was, of course, blue, Gemm's was orange, Emily's was purple and Laura's was red. After we taped them on the door, we went to go find places for the candy bowl and reaper.

"What if we make our reaper right by the bowl?" I asked. "So that way it'll all just be in one place."

"Yeah," Gemm said. "That'll work. Good thing we have the small table…"

The dorm came with a low, wooden table that was meant for a worktable. We never used it, though, and sat it in the back. It now came in handy, though, for a nice place for a candy bowl. After we set up the little table, we decided to head back to working on some homework when we decided that we should just get the guys over and do something. When we went to go over to their dorm, they were already coming over to ours.

"We got bored," 'Greg' said.

"Same," Gemm told them. "At least we took up some free time…"

"Anyway, wanna do something?" 'Brody' asked us. "At least at your dorm so the electric isn't screwed up?"  
"Fine," Emily said. "You can come over to ours. Just don't steal any food."  
"Food?" 'Jake' asked.

"You'll see what she means," I told him.

We then walked back down the hallway, and the guys were so surprised at our door décor that their jaws dropped.

"When did you guys get decorations?" 'Nathan' asked.

"We went out when we were suppose to be doing work," I told him. "I got bored, anyway, and that's the first thing that I thought we should do."

"So, it was your idea?" 'Brody' asked.

"Yep," I replied. "It was. Wait until you see the candy bowl!"

"Oh, that's what you mean by food!" 'Jake' finally realized.

"Yeah," Laura said. "And Crystal fell in love with one of the decorations we brought home."

I just giggled a bit and watched each guy roll his eyes. We then headed in and they were amazed at the table.

"Oh, I see which one Crystal fell in love with," 'Nathan' said, knowing me too good.

"Yep," I told them. "Favorite thing here. There was a giant one, too, but that was over $400!"

He then laughed, saying, "Ah, what is it with you and creepy things?"

"Hey," I told him. "You guys are creepy yourselves when you're not in your disguises…"

"Oh, BURN!" Laura shouted, laughing after she did so.

"She got you good on that one!" Emily laughed.

'Nathan' then just shot me a funny look, and I smiled.

"Friends. What're we going to do with them?" I laughed.

"Anyways," Gemm said, shooting a look at the other giggling girls. "Weren't we going to read the news together?"

"Oh, yeah!" I exclaimed.

I then went to get the paper from under my bed. As I showed them the front page, they all gazed at it.

"Just look at the title!" Gemm said. "Woman passed out while cooking; Fire started!"

"Who want's to read?" I asked them, sounding like a preschool teacher.

"Me, me, me!" they chanted at me.

"How about… Gemm!" I said. "You're always a good speaker, so this should be easy for you!"

She then stood up and we switched places. Then she sat down in the navy blue beanbag chair and held up the paper. She then gazed at the paper, and began reading.

"On October 7th, a woman was making a meal for herself, when she passed out. The stove was on when this happened, and started from what became a kitchen fire and grew until it took the whole house down. The woman was alone, and she did not survive, as we know of. The house went down in flames, and we still are contacting relatives."

"That's sad," Laura said. "I mean it's a horrible way to die. Its right up with Crystal being sick and you guys had to save her."

"And that was pretty bad," 'Greg' said. "Now, where was this?"  
Gemm quickly searched the paper, and then placed her finger on it right when she found it.

"That's funny," she said. "It's right around our neighborhood. Actually, it _is_ in our neighborhood!"

"Let me see that," I said, and I snatched the paper away from her to look.

"Hey," 'Nathan' told me, looking at where I had my pointer finger. "Why does that address seem familiar?"

I stared closely at it, and then I gasped. _No,_ I thought in horror. _It can't be! It just __**can't**__ be!_ The paper then fell out of my hand as I was frozen with the shock. 'Greg' then grabbed the paper, and realized why I was mortified.

"What?" Laura asked. "What's the address?"

I then got unexpectedly hugged by 'Greg' as he whispered, "I'm so sorry…"

'Nathan' then caught on, and got in the group hug. I tried so hard to hold back tears, but I just couldn't.

"OMG!" Gemm screamed. "Crystal, it can't be your house… It just CAN'T!"

As the new friends got shocked with the news, they began to hug me as I began to weep. After a while, it was only 'Nathan' who kept me in his arms.

"I'm so sorry," he kept whispering. "I'm so, so sorry…"

**Chapter Four**

_Gemm's Magic Problem_

Eventually, I was well enough to speak in my sorrow of what to do now. I knew the phone call was going to happen any minute, until it never came. Surely they would've known I was here, wouldn't they? I then saw the confusion on the guys' faces as they held up their newspaper they got in their dorm and compared it with ours.

"Why did you get the New Jersey news?" 'Jake' asked.

"It was the news we got at our door," Laura said.

"But aren't you suppose to get it at the mailbox?" 'Brody' asked his GF.

"Are we?" Gemm asked. "If that's so, then what's this doing here?"

"Hey, 'Nathan'?" I asked my BF. "Doesn't Zimmy know how to use the phone and all that?"

"Yeah," he said. "Why'd ya ask?"

"I need to call him and make sure this isn't a prank," I told them. "You know how nasty some of these guys are…"

I then picked up my cell and dialed the number, and sure enough, Zimmy picked up right away.

"Zimmy?" I asked. "You there?"

"Yep," the voice on the other line said. "It's me! Though, I have to be 'Ricky' to pick up the phone…"

"Oh," I said, and then put the cell on speaker. "Anyway, did ya see the news?"

"Oh, you saw," he said, his voice dying down from excitement. "How'd you get our paper all the way up there?"

"I don't know," I said. "But I was just making sure it wasn't a hoax."

"I wish it were," he told me on the other line. "And I'm really sorry to hear about that. I should've stayed and-"

"No," I cut him off, having a bit of sadness in my voice. "You didn't know. Heck, none of us knew! It's just… what am I going to do now that I don't have anybody?"

"What about your grandparents?" he asked. "Aren't they available."

"They're moving to a retirement home," I told him. "So I can't stay there…"

"Oh, great," he sarcastically said. "So where are you going to go? You can't be in your dorm forever!"

"I'll figure something out," I told him. "Anyway, I'll talk to you soon when we come home, okay?"

"Okay," he said, and hung up.

"That is true," Gemm finally said. "Where are you going to go?"

"I don't know…" I said. "I have nowhere now…"

I was so upset that I could barely think. Heck, I could barely talk! I just wished it would all be over and that it was just all a big dream. _Don't worry,_ I told myself. _When you died, you felt no pain, so she should be fine. She is with Dad now, remember?_ I them smiled, knowing that she's fine, or, at least her spirit is.

"What's with everything dramatic happening with us?" 'Greg' asked. "This all makes no sense! It's like freaking karma!"

"I just need a bit of alone time," I told my friends, and went into the bathroom.

The good thing about this collage is that each dorm comes with it's own private bathroom. The collage has this because there have been a couple of problems with public ones. The bathroom, though it's not very big, had a shower and a tub. I then silently cried until I passed out and Gemm had to drag me out.

"Jeesh, Crystal," she said. "If you're going to cry, then just do it out here! We won't judge!"

I smiled, and I gave her a friendly hug. The guys had already left, so we could chat amongst ourselves. We were mostly talking about school related things until I just had to bring up home, and I couldn't keep my mind from asking where I'm going to live next.

"Maybe I could camp out in one of the hideouts," I joked, feeling a bit better.

"Or stay with me," Gemm said. "I mean, just think about the fun we'll have being sisters!"

"Thanks," I said, laughing at the thought. "But I don't want to put more stress on your family. I need some place where I can just chill and not have to worry about anything."

The girls thought for a minute, and I just sighed.

"I guess it's the orphanage," Gemm sighed. "That is miles and miles away…"

"No!" I demanded. "There's got to be some place where I can stay!"

We all thought again, long and hard, until I just sighed.

"You know what," Gemm finally suggested. "I think we should just get some rest. We might come up with an idea in the morning."

That's when I went t bed, and I curled up with the little plush cat. I sighed, hoping that there will be some place for me to stay. Now, with me being an orphan, I am on my own with a handful of friends. I then realized how good and loyal my friends really are to me, and I smiled. _You're not totally alone! You have such great friends, and you're making new ones all the time!_ My mind was then racing with these thoughts, and I was smiling, happy that I still have a 'family'. I then shed one, single happy tear, and fell asleep. I then had another dream that I was sure was a vision. I mean, the dream about the prom a couple years back did come true, so I was certain this one would, too.

In the dream, it was all black at first, and then it cleared up to the mansion. _The mansion? What am I doing here?_ I thought, but kept walking up to it. I then went inside and right by the grand piano. There, I then looked closely at it and saw little mice running along the keys. But these weren't ordinary mice, oh no! I then saw the smallest one there. He was the only one with a bit of fuzz at the end of the tail, looking like a kangaroo rat. I then inched towards the piano, my eyes locked on the one little mouse. Then, as my fingers inched towards it, it turned and looked at me. I then realized why it was so different, for it wasn't a real mouse at all! It was a stuffed mouse, and had little buttons for eyes. It looked at me with the cutest expression, though the face was plain. The mouth was sewed like an 'X', but it moved slightly when it spoke.

"Crystal, is that you?" the little mouse asked.

That's when the others turned and looked at me, all with buttoned eyes, but the eyes were smaller than the smallest mouse's. They all just seemed to stare, and that's when my mark started to glow. Then, the mice started to grow until they were at their fullest size, and that's when I woke up.

I was gasping for air, surprised at my dream. The others were all sitting by my bed, scared as ever.

"You were talking in your sleep," Laura squeaked in fear.

"Do you do this often?" Emily asked.

"You were chanting 'The Mice, The Mice', over and over again," Gemm told me with horror in her voice and eyes.

"I was having a weird dream," I told them.

"What was it about?" Emily asked. "I'm a sucker for weird dreams. I mean vampires are into that stuff, and especially daylight vampires!"  
I then told the girls my dream, and they all looked confused at me.

"Uh, what?" Emily said right after I finished telling them. "Little stuffed mice are talking and growing? Now _that's_ a weird dream!"  
"But something felt eerie about it," I told them. "I just doesn't make sense! I guess it's just a dream…"

"You know what? You're right!" Gemm said. "It does seem eerie. It's like there's a chilling feeling whenever I think about it."

"Then should we tell the guys?" Laura asked.

"I think not," I told her. "It's best just to leave it a mystery for now until I have time to think about it…"  
I then woke myself and got myself looking presentable.

"Okay guys," I said to my roomies. "Today's only Sunday, and the work we have to do is small, so is there anything you'd like to do today?"  
"Maybe just get ready for Halloween," Laura said. "I mean, that's the only thing I can think of right now."

"Should I get a cool outfit or something?" Emily asked. "I feel like the fangs aren't enough."

"Maybe a cape," I suggested. "Like one of the good old classic ones?"

"That'll work," Gemm said. "That's defiantly what you need to make you look like a vampire, even though you are one!"

"Yeah…" Emily thought. "I guess I should go down and get one…"

"Can we o down with you?" Laura asked. "There's nothing else to do."

"Fine," she said. "Since there's nothing else to do."

I then went in the bathroom to brush out my hair, and Gemm joined me to do the same thing.

"Okay," she whispered to me. "Can I tell ya something?"

"What?" I whispered back. "What's there to tell?"

"Well," she shyly said. "I'm jealous of ya guys. I mean, I'm the only one without powers!"

"Oh, Gemm!" I sighed. "You don't need powers to be one of us, you just-"  
"I don't mean it like that!" she interrupted. "I mean, I want powers so that I can be special, too. And do say crap about how I'm already special, because I know all that, but I want to show that I can do cool things, too!"  
"Aw, Gemm," I smiled. "Powers are a big responsibility. I mean, you can kill someone with the powers we have!"  
"I know," she whispered. "But can't you see that you don't really need powers? We were just luck to get some, that's all."

"I want to be lucky, too…"  
"You are! You have some wonderful friends!"  
"Not like that!" she screamed, and rushed out of the bathroom.

"What's her deal?" Laura asked.

"Nothing," I said. "Just… it's our little problem, okay?"

"Alright," she said, but wasn't so sure of herself. "Because I can always help…"

"Trust me," I told her. "You can't really help on this one…"

Gemm just went to the top of the bunk bed and turned away from us.

"I'm not going," she whimpered. "You go on without me…"

"O-okay," I stumbled. "Are ya sure?"

"YES," she yelled, and we just scurried out of the room.

"Hold on," I told the girls when we were out of the dorm. "I've got to set things right. Or, at least send her some company…"

"So you're going to get 'Greg', huh?" Laura asked.  
"Yep," I told them. "Now, are you coming with me to get him or not?"  
"Do we have a choice?" Emily asked.

I just gave them a look, and started down the hallway of the boys. Of course, Emily and Laura followed me until we hit the dorm of our guy friends. We knocked a couple of times, and it was Masky that opened the door.

"Aren't you supposed to be in your disguise?" Laura asked.

"We aren't going anywhere," he said skittishly. "So, what do you want?"

"We're here for Jeff," I told him. "His gal broke down…"

"Hold on," the masked boy said, and went into the dark room.

It only took a couple of minutes before Jeff appeared.

"What do ya want?" he asked, annoyed at us.

"Gemm's been having a break down," I told him. "She's mad about… well… I can't say it right here…"

"Hold on," he said, and changed into 'Greg'. "Let me tell the guys that I'm going out. We had a power outage again, so yeah…"

He then went back into the dorm, and popped out again.

"Why don't you just have the spare room key," Laura said, handing him her card. "We're heading out, anyways, and she doesn't want to see us."

"I guess I have to go check on my gal," he sighed.

We then walked with him, and I held him back to tell him what's going on.

"Okay," I said. "I'm the only one who knows why she's upset…"

"And?" he asked.

"And she wants powers," I told him.

"Jeesh," he said. "It's worse than I thought. What, is she just jealous?"

"Yeah," I answered. "And she want's to be like us, even though we already accepted her."

"And she's pissed?" he asked.

"I don't know why she is, but yeah. So, you're the only guy who can get it out of her…"

"What are you guys doing?" Emily asked, coming up right behind me.

"Nothing," 'Greg' said. "Just, uh, talking…"

"Well, c'mon Crystal, we got to go!" she told me, and dragged me away from 'Greg'.

As we headed out, I looked back on 'Greg'. _Gee,_ I thought. _He's willing to put his girl first before anything else. 'Nathan' is like that, too, but 'Greg' was never like this before. I guess he has changed…_

"You okay, Crystal?" Laura asked. "You look like your mind went blank!"

"It's just… it seems like 'Greg' has changed," I told them. "He would've never stayed behind just to be with his gal before. He would always have at least someone with him…"

"Maybe he realized something," Emily said. "I know I did when I was with Masky for a while, and I was happy that I did."

"Why should you bother, anyway?" Laura asked. "I mean, it's important to care, but it's their lives anyway."

"Yeah," I laughed a little. "Maybe I'm just worried about my friend…"

We then walked out of the building and down the parking lot. I then looked around at the many buildings.

"I never really paid attention to the scenery here," I told them. "It's pretty…"

"Yeah," Laura said, looking away from the road.

It was really nice. With the lake so close and the trees changing colors. I could even see a couple of cardinals flying around the water.

"Let's get going," Emily said. "Though it is pretty, I'm never really into this kind of stuff. It's kind of part of my vampire side…"

We then faced away from the lake, and we headed over to the party store again, but this time we went strait for the costumes.

"Hey," I said after 20 minutes of searching. "I know this is not a classic cape, but will this do?"  
The cape was a nice shade of purple and had a red fabric underneath. The rims were decorated in black lining and on the cape was embroidered a big, black star.

"It's awesome!" Emily screeched. "It's so cool!"  
The cape was extremely cheep, and as we headed out the store, Emily took it out of the bag.

"You're going to wear it?" I asked, surprised and startled.

"No," she said. "I just want to hold it…"

She then kept feeling the cloth as we headed back into the dorm. When we arrived, there was Jeff, on the top bunk right up with Gemm.

"Is she… okay?" I asked.

"She'll be fine," he said. "You guys might want to head over to our dorm, cuz… uh… it's going to be a while…"

Gemm just hung her head as she sat there, sad for whatever reason. I didn't realize she felt **that** left out.

"Oh, Gemm," I called up to her. "I hope you'll feel better…"

"I'M NOT SICK!" she screamed, and I knew she was pissed.

"Yeah…" Jeff said, long and slow. "She's not in the mood…"

"Got it!" I said back, and we rushed out of the dorm.

"Great," Laura said, holding her sewing kit and a flashlight. "Now we have to be in the dark…"

"Why are you bringing your kit?" I asked.

"Cuz," she said. "I'm bored…"

"But I thought-" Emily began to say.

"I know, I know," she interrupted. "I'll just make dolls just incase we need it…"

"Oh, fine!" I said. "But just don't use them for pranks!"

"You know," she said. "I can use these to make them say whatever I want them to say!"

"You can do that?" I asked.

"Yep," she answered. "Watch…"

She then took out a doll that looked like Emily, and whispered some words into the doll.

"I like Dracula!" Emily then said. "Wait, what? NO I DON'T!"  
We then began to giggle, and eventually Emily joined in with the laughter. Then, we decided to walk up to the dorm, and we were answered by E.J.

"Let me guess," he said. "Gemm's still upset?"

"Yep," I said. "So upset that we can't even enter into the room…"

"Wow," he said, and shook his head. "Anyway, It's good that you brought a flashlight. Slendy is trying to fix the electric…"

"Oh, goodness…" I said, and stormed in. "That's the last thing he needs to do…"

"Oh, looks like the girls are crashing out lights-out party!" Masky said. "Better change back!"

"You don't need to change back," I told them. "Just, let me see the problem…"

I then found Slendy right by the confusion of wires, and I just sighed.

"Okay, we both know you're bad at this…" I told him.

"At least I'm trying!" he said. "I wish Zimmy were here. The dang cat is good at this stuff!"

I then looked at the wires, and finally found the problem.

"What's this red wire doing?" I asked. "This belongs here…"

After putting the wire in the correct spot, the lights flickered back on.

"Huh," he said. "I'm horrible at this…"

I then laughed, and he turned back into 'Nathan'.

"You don't have to disguise yourself," I told him.

"Nah," he said. "I feel more comfy in this…"

We then sat around in a circle on the floor as we watched Laura make the voodoo dolls.

"So," I asked her. "How long have you been making these dolls?"  
"Since I was five," she said. "My dad was a witch doctor, so he was good at this stuff. The magic then got passed down to me…"

"Interesting," 'Nathan' said. "It's just like how Crystal's dad was a Proxy as well, and then she became the blue Proxy…"

I then blushed a bit, just thinking about my title. I mean, I had it for a couple of years now, but it means so much more than just being able to help out Creepy pastas. It means me and Slendy were… uh… well, you can figure that out. Anyways, since the similarity startled me a bit, I began to ask more questions.

"Was Emily's dad a vampire, then?" I asked.

"Yeah," E.J. said. "He was one of the top vampires in the whole town!"  
"See the trend?" I asked 'Nathan'.

"You're right!" he said. "You all got your traits from your fathers, as us Creepy pastas did with our abilities…"

"Like how I got my mask," Masky said.

"And how I found kidneys to be so good…" E.J. joined in.

"Jeff got the killing from the hunting he did with his dad," 'Nathan' told us. "And I got my tentacles from my father, so-"

"So it's like we were meant to be with you guys!" I said. "It all makes sense. But, what about Gemm?"

That's when it clicked. I then began to look at my friends, as I explained the whole situation about the 'magic' thing, and they just stared at me.

"So, she feels like she doesn't belong," Laura said. "Now I feel bad…"

"Hey, Jeff's wasn't directly from his father," Masky said. "But he still leaned the skills from him.

I then began to feel sorry for Gemm, and then I decided what to do.

"Hey, 'Nathan'?" I asked.

"What?" he said.

"Since I already have magic," I began to say. "Then can I give my necklace to Gemm?"

**Chapter Five**

_Gemm and Jeff's Mistake!_

"ARE YOU CRAZY?" Masky screamed.

"Now hang on," 'Nathan' said, shushing him. "Crystal, do you know how dangerous that is?"

"I didn't know," I scrambled to say. "I wont, I WONT!"

"I know you feel bad," E.J. said. "But she could change into something, and **never** come out of that form!"

"I don't want that to happen," I told them. "And I never did! It's just… it's the only thing I could think of!"

"We can't just _give_ her powers," Masky told me. "She has to truly earn them…"

"Wait," I said. "How did I _earn_ mine?"

"You have an excuse," 'Nathan' said. "You are the blue Proxy, and you're suppose to have powers. But none of us just _got _ours. We had to pass the special test back in school…"

"So," Laura said. "What about Emily and me? We got ours by being in the family…"

"He means for people who weren't born with them," Masky told his GF. "For others, they earn theirs."

I then tried to think of how to make her feel better, because at this point, she can't have the powers.

"Maybe we should just, well, get her something nice?" I tried to think.

"Showering people with gifts doesn't work for everyone, Crystal," 'Nathan' said. "We really have to think here…"

"Should we just let Jeff do his thing?" Laura asked.

"Maybe," E.J. said. "Maybe that's all we can really do for now…"

After a while, we drew a blank in our minds, so we just waited for something to happen. That's when we heard the door knock, and we saw Jeff come in.

"You just left Gemm?" I asked. "Is she alright?"

"No," he said. "And I didn't leave her. I just need to get something quick…"

"What?" I asked. "A special ring or something?"

"No," he said, and grabbed his wallet.

"Your wallet?" 'Nathan' asked. "What are you doing with that?"

Jeff didn't say a word, and left the room.

"Okay then," I said, confused. "Can we just have a normal day without anything happening?"

"I don't think it's good that Jeff grabbed his wallet," Masky said. "The last time he did that, he almost came back with some police following him…"

"Oh, great," I sarcastically said. "Now we have to go grab him."

"Or we could let him go to jail," E.J. said. "That's always an option."

"Uh, NO WAY!" I said. "When 'Nathan' was in jail, he was literally in chains!"

"Hold on," Laura said. "You went to jail?"  
"Yep," 'Nathan' said, sounding proud. "By protecting her."

He then looked at me, and I began to blush again, remembering that day.

"Those dang Proxy hunters…" I muttered. "I hated those little-"

"Okay, we get it," Laura stopped me. "I have know idea what Proxy hunters are, but they don't sound good."

We then kept talking, and the horrible topic came up on 'home' and 'family'. I then couldn't keep it in any more as I blurted out something.

"Hey guys," I finally said. "You don't think I'll end up in a orphanage a thousand miles away from home, do you?"

"No," 'Nathan' said. "We wouldn't let that happen."

"And by 'we' you mean…" I said.

"'Greg' and me," he told me. "Actually, I think I have an idea…"

"You do?" I asked. "WHAT?"

"Not right now," he said. "Later, when we're alone…"

"Huh?" I asked. "Just, whatever. It must be important, anyway."

He then smiled that mysterious smile from the prom when he showed me the necklace. Yes, the man has a necklace, but it's a magical one that makes him change forms, so it's not creepy at all.

"Hey guys!" Laura shouted. "I'm done the dolls!"

"Oh, wow!" I said as I looked at them. "There so cute!"

I then glanced at mine, which was in a light blue gown and had long, yellow yarn as hair. I also noticed the symbol she stitched on the doll's arm. Slendy's was adorable, with nothing on the doll's face but a black smile. Jeff's and Gemm's were cool, too, and I hand lightly grabbed Gemm's doll.

"Be careful!" Laura told me. "If damaged, it can hurt them unless you have the right kind of magic…"

"Can you do something for me?" I asked her.

"Uh, sure!" she said. "I guess we should go somewhere off to the side then, huh?"  
"Yeah," I said. "That would be the best for this…"

We then went over to the one corner in the room. As soon as we got over there, I handed her the doll.

"Tell the doll exactly what I say, okay?" I asked her. "Repeat every word until I tap you shoulder, got it?"

"Okay," Laura said. "But make it quick!"

I then looked at the doll, and thought of the words I was going to say.

"Alright," I said. "Tell the doll this: Hey, Gemm. Don't worry; it's just Crystal and Laura with the dolls. I just wanted to tell you that you don't have to be upset. We know it's hard to be left out, and we want you to be happy again. You wouldn't want powers, anyway, for sometimes they can mess up your life. I know it's hard to accept that your friends mostly have powers, but just think about Fern, Emma and Sarah. They must think the same thing, but they don't care! I just want to tell you this because you have to realize that you're a very special girl, and you're one of us! Just, please don't be sad anymore!"

I then tapped Laura on the shoulder, and she put the doll down. She then looked at me with gleaming eyes, and we headed back.

"What was that about?" E.J. asked. "And is it cool with you guys if I have my lunch now?"

"It's fine," Laura said. "And we were just sending Gemm a message."

"Well that's nice," Masky said. "But what can we do now?"

I just shrugged, thinking of what to do. I then looked at the others, and they became clueless.

"Hey, can we just watch something on T.V.?" Emily asked.

"Look who got back to talking," I said. "You were so quiet…"

"Oh, sorry," she said. "I leaned how to sleep with my eyes opened…"

"Okay," I said, a little scared of the comment. "Can we just turn on the T.V.?"  
'Nathan' then grabbed the remote, and tried to flick through channels, but like a curse each one had something to do about fire and deaths, and we just turned it back off.

"Never mind, then," he said, and literally threw the remote across the room, like it burned him.

We then heard a loud knock at the door, and Masky went to open it. When he did, both Jeff and Gemm were there, but Gemm was slung across Jeff's shoulder and they were both swaying.

"What the?" I asked. "What happened?"

"Funny water…" Gemm sleepily said, and then kept laughing uncontrollably.

'Nathan' then grabbed the bottle out of Jeff's hand.

"Ah, dude!" he said. "You're drunk!"

"You took her to a bar!" I gasped. "But you're both under aged!"

"It's water!" Jeff said over and over again.

"It's not water," I told him. "It's clearly not water!"

That's when Gemm passed out on the floor, with Jeff right after her. We then dragged both to a bed and splashed water on their face, and Gemm just looked up, finally conscious.

"What happened?" I asked, and Gemm just moaned.

"I thought it was water!" she cried. "Or a non-alcoholic drink! Jeff's a liar!"

"No I'm not!" he said, face flat on the pillow. "I thought it was lemonade!"

"Well," 'Nathan' said. "I must dispose of this, right away!"

He then ran out of the room to get rid of it, and I had to keep the two awake.

"So, are you telling the truth?" I asked.

"Yes we are," Jeff told me. "We totally are!"

I just sighed as I helped them sit up on the bed. I then asked Gemm if she got the message.

"I did," she said. "Right before we headed out. I knew all that stuff before ya told me, but I still want the powers!"

"Gemm!" I told her. "Just forget it! You have to earn your powers or be born with them, and that's it!"

"What about your powers?" she asked. "You didn't earn then and you weren't born with them."

"I was brave enough to go back to see Slendy, wasn't I?" I told her.

"Well, yeah, but you had no idea it would get you like this…" she said.

"No, I didn't. But you have to believe me when I tell you that to earn them you have to do something good without expecting them to come…"

"Oh," she said, feeling guilty. "Well, I'm complaining over nothing, so I should just leave it at that."

"Yeah!" I told her. "That's the spirit! Now, will you stop complaining about this?"

"For now," she told me.

The next thing we did was go back to our dorms and start to get more work done, and it took a couple of hours to get it done. When it was finished, I hopped on my laptop and went on the Internet and looked at emails. The only things new were advertisements and spam mail. I then took the time to write some more music, my favorite hobby since I was young, and I began to have fun with it. After that, I finally went to bed.

The next few days were better between Gemm and the rest of the group, but she still wished for some powers. It wasn't long before it was already Halloween, and we were all going to the costume party that day, since it was Saturday, of course!

"Hey, looks like the girls are all jazzed up!" 'Greg' said once we met up with them outside.

"Well," I said. "It's nothing, really…"

"C'mon," 'Nathan' said. "Where the hack is this place, anyway?"

"It's in the alley," I told them. "With then two houses on each side, remember? Anyway, the person hosting this lives in one of the houses and the alleyway is considered 'his'."

"Oh," Laura said. "That sounds cool."

We then headed over, getting there early, and started to hang out with the people there. It was quiet at first, until more people came, and the party started to kick up.

"This is awesome!" I yelled at 'Nathan', since the music was so loud.

"Yeah," he yelled back, but it was really quiet compared to the noises going on. "Hey, wanna go someplace quieter?"  
"That'd be nice," I said, and he grabbed my arm and dragged me through the crowd.

We finally got to a quiet corner, and we smiled, glad to be out of that mess.

"So," he said, not yelling at me due to the quietness. "I wanted to tell you my idea about where you should go now, since… well-"

"You don't have to say it," I told him. "Just tell me what it is…"

"Well," he said. "You know this place very well, and it's in the woods…"

"Oh, the guessing game, huh?" I asked. "Well, is it the cave hideout?"

"Nope," he said.

"The bus?'

"Nope."

"Then what?" I asked, wanting to know.

"I was thinking," he said, and then blushed a bit. 'What about the mansion?"

**Chapter Six**

_'Kyle's' News_

"The mansion?" I asked him, almost startled.

"Well," he said, and I knew this was embarrassing. "At least it is a house, and the place is huge…"

"It's brilliant," I finally told him, noticing that it really was. "Why didn't I think of this before? I mean, how bad can it be?"  
If I had to live with a bunch of guys, so be it. At least I'm not a thousand miles away in some random orphanage, and waiting to get adopted by some strict parents. I was just glad that the place was also filled with people I knew well, not to mention my BF (Wink, wink).

"Hey," 'Nathan' finally said. "Let's head back to the party. We should just drop the idea until we get back to the dorms, okay?"

"Okay," I answered, and smiled as he took my hand and dragged me back through the crowd.

We found Emily and Laura again with 'Jake' and 'Brody', dancing like a bunch of maniacs.

"This party is awesome!" Laura bellowed. "It's so much fun!"

"I know," I shouted back. "It's amazing!"  
That night, we partied up until midnight, and we headed back into the dorms.

"Okay, guys," I said. "It's been a long night, so let's get some-"

"But…" 'Nathan' whispered to me. "Should we deal about thee whole house thing?"

"Later," I said. "I'm too tired right now."

"Okay," he sighed. "I'm a bit tired, too."

We then went back into the room, and I got into my PJs that had little stars and moons all over them. I then plopped down face-first on the bed, and fell into a deep sleep. Hours and hours went by; only they felt like minutes to me. I then felt like I was being poked, and tried to shoo the hand, er, whatever was poking me, away. I then raised my head, only to see the eyes of Jeff looking at me.

"What the?" I asked, so tired from last night.

"SHHH!" he said. "The rest are still asleep…"

"What do you want?" I whispered.

"C'mon, quick! I don't want Gemm to wake up…"

"Huh?"

"Just come," he said, and pulled on my leg. "You're fine in your PJs…"

He tugged me so hard that I fell out of bed, and I finally wiped the crud out of my eyes. He then rushed to the door, which was wide opened.

"How'd you get in?" I asked.

"I still had the card Laura gave me," he said, and put it on her desk. "Anyways, you have to come to our dorm, like now!"

I didn't care what the heck was going on, for I knew it was big. I then rushed out of the dorm with him, and went to the hallway of the guys. He then got me into their dorm, and the guys were already awake.

"What the heck's going on?" I asked as soon as I got in.

"Come and look at this," 'Nathan' said, leading me to the window.

I realized it was only 3:00 in the morning still, since the night sky was out. I looked out the window, only to see the parking lot and the dumpsters. I looked closely, and there I saw it. It was a small, black shadow at first, but then it came into a clearer view of a dog. But not just any dog, but Jeff's dog, Smile.

"What's he doing here?" I asked. "And shouldn't he be in disguise?"

"We need to get him," 'Jake' said. "But we don't know how…"

"Just get Jeff down there and-" I began to say.

"No," 'Nathan' interrupted me. "The doors are locked. There's no way we can go outside."

"Why don't you just change back and use your tentacles?" I asked him.

"Can't," he said. "It spooks the dog…"

"Then I better use my necklace," I told them, and looked down at the crystal.

I still had the necklace on, since I can't really take it off now. I have it on me so that no one can steal it. I then changed into a mouse, and went up on the windowsill.

"I'm going to try and get him out of there," I told the guys. "Or at least back into the forest…"

"Good luck," 'Brody' told me.

I climbed out the window and down to where the dog was. Of course, the dog was scared as ever, and went back towards the dumpsters.

"Oh, c'mon Smile…" I tried to call the dog. "It's me, Crystal…"

"Crystal?" A voice said from behind the dumpster.

"Hello?" I called. "Anyone there?"

Okay, I was totally scared. If some homeless guy just jumped out of nowhere, I'd crap my pants. I then turned into myself, and prepared for the worse to come. When I looked around the corner, there was 'Kyle', clamping on a sandwich and backed up against the wall.

"'Kyle'?" I asked. "What are you doing?"  
"I heard you guys were here," he said, chewing on the food.

"And?"

"And home is becoming a nightmare!"

"What?" I asked. "I know about my house and all, but what's so bad?"

"Everything," he said. "Major storms, the Proxy hunters are out of jail, 'Kyan' and Sunni went missing…"

'Kyan' and Sunni were at the collage near our hometown. If they went missing, then they could be anywhere…

"This is horrible!" I said, hearing the news. "The worst news I've ever heard. Makes sense why you moved away, but why to down at our collage?"

"I got to tell somebody, don't I?" He asked. "And the others in New York aren't going to know what to do at all, so I came down here…"

I then saw a little rat run across the parking lot, and it changed into 'Nathan'.

"Over here!" I called to him.

He then rushed over right away. As soon as he got behind the dumpsters, he just looked in confusion at his brother.

"What the heck are you doing here?" he asked. "You're supposed to help with Zimmy!"

"It's bad up there," 'Kyle' said, and began to tell 'Nathan' the news.

"Oh, this is bad," he said. "Really, really bad. 'Kyle', I want you to go back and find 'Kyan' and Sunni. We'll take care of the rest later."

"But-" 'Kyle' started.

"NO BUTS!" I yelled at him. "You can't just leave our two friends roaming around in who knows where!"

"Fine," the brother pouted. "But it's really bad up there…"

"Go, now!" Both 'Nathan' and me told him.

'Kyle' then took the dog with him and went back behind the building.

"Don't worry," 'Nathan' told me once he left. "We'll find the two. Everything should be fine when we go home…"

The two of us just turned back into mice and ran up the brick wall and into the dorm window. After explaining what happened to the other guys, they just stood there in shock.

"That means that when we go back, we have to be careful!" Jeff said.

"Exactly," I told him. "And no one is safe, now. The Proxy hunters are loose and are probably looking for us."

We just stood in total shock, until finally I realized I had to get back before the girls worry about me.

"Well, thanks for the help," 'Jake' said.

"Anytime," I said. "Anytime!"

I then left the dorm, only to find Laura, Emily and Gemm right outside of the door, almost about to knock.

"What were you doing in there?" Gemm asked.

"I'll tell you back in the dorm," I answered her, and we headed back.

After we were safe and sound in the room, I told my roomies the whole story. Just like the guys, they were in total shock.

"If the hunters are out," Gemm said. "Then what about you and 'Nathan'?"

"I don't know…" I replied. "I'm not sure what to do now…"

"You don't suppose the Proxy hunters took 'Kyan' and Sunni, do you?" Emily asked.

"Probably," I answered. "There is nothing else to explain their absence. I know it's going to take a lot from 'Kyle' just to get them back."

"I wish we could go home," Gemm said. "And just fix everything."

"Me too," I told her. "Me too…"  
The rest of the day was all collage work, and then we had a little fun by going out for some food t store in the mini fridge. We grabbed a whole bunch of sodas and snacks at the food store, and once we got out, I told them about the cart racing we do at home.

"That sounds like fun," Laura said. "But isn't that dangerous?"  
"Nah," I spoke. "Unless you can't control the cart!"  
We then carried the food all the way back, and we talked about what we used to do back at home.

"We used to throw parties at our houses," Laura told us. "It was so much fun, but it got a little rowdy at times."

"We hosted parties at the hideout," I told them. "And leaf pile contest, though we haven't done them in so long now…"

I began to laugh as they shared all the stuff about school and how they had to hang out at a park since there were no woods.

"That must've sucked," I wondered. "You should come down to us sometime…"

"I wish," Emily said. "But it's hard now, with all the people we'd miss…"

"Yeah," I sighed. "I would, too. I mean I would miss going to the hideout to hang out with my pals…"

"Since they're all Creepy pastas, basically," Gemm joined in. "Hey, how did you meet E.J. and Masky?"

"Well," Laura started. "We were at the park one day, when we were getting bullied by these older kids. They then appeared and scared the heck out of them, making them run off. After we thanked them, they kept appearing around us. We eventually got used to them, and became best friends, and then eventually we were BF and GFs."

"I think Crystal should tell how she met Slendy," Emily said after Laura finished. "I'd like to hear that one, since Gemm said you met him, what, like almost 3-4 years ago?"

"I guess I'll start from that Halloween night," I began.

So, basically, I told them all about how I got lost from pranking Jewel and then encountering him. I then smiled when I was talking about it, because it was good to remember that day. When I was done, they smiled, liking my little story.

"That's so cute!" Laura thought aloud. "It seems like a better story then the one we told."

"Yeah," Emily joined in. "Since when does that ever happen? Meeting true loves in a forest like that. I think it's really cool…"

I smiled, and I realized we were already at the building. We headed in and walked down the hallway to our room. We then quickly got our things in the fridge. After that was done, we just watched videos on our laptops until we got bored. The day was pretty slow, but at least it wasn't bad. The rest of the week went just like that, slow but good. The work was horrible, I must admit, but at least I got it done fast. I was getting my homework done in an hour, which is faster than usual.

"You're done already?" Gemm asked.

"Yep," I said, grabbing out the paper full of music and began continuing it.

"Dang, you're fast!" she exclaimed, and I laughed.

That was pretty much the couple of weeks until it was the day right before we left for a couple of days. That morning before we left, I got up early then normal to help pack up the food for Laura and Emily.

"Hey, thanks," Laura said once she noticed what I was doing.

"Oh, no problem," I said back to her, and went strait back to work.

It only took half an hour to pack the food, and then I went inside to pack up the rest of the stuff. An hour later, the guys woke up and started to help us pack.

"You've been busy," 'Nathan' said to me, looking at the packed stuff.

"Better get it done and over with," I told him, and we went back to packing clothes.

When we were finally done, we went out to eat at a burger joint for lunch/dinner.

"That was a lot of work," Gemm finally said. "I mean, have you guys ever did as much work as we did?"  
"I have," I said. "With packing up to get here."

"Besides that," she told me.

"No, I don't recall anything that required a lot of work before," Emily thought. "But maybe once before with something else…"

We then went back to our usual joking around as we ate, and we were enjoying ourselves like usual. When we left the place, we just got ready for the next day.

"I guess you're staying at the mansion then, huh?" 'Nathan' asked before we departed into separate hallways.

"I don't really have much other choice, do I?" I asked him.

"I suppose not," he said.

"Then would I be staying there for now?" I asked him.

"Until we can find a place for you," he told me. "And don't worry, I have the perfect room for you!"

**Chapter Seven**

_The New Home_

"The perfect room, huh?" I asked him. "We'll see about that!"

We then laughed as we broke off down each hallway. When I went inside the room, I got back into my PJs and packed the clothes I wore that day into the travel bag. I then got ready for bed, only to have Gemm join me in the bathroom.

"You chose to stay with 'Nathan'?" she asked.

"Yeah," I answered her. "I didn't want to stay at another friend's house, because I didn't want to have the parents stressing out and all that."

"You have a point," she said. "It's just, it's going to seem weird having you live in a secluded house in the woods…"

"I'll be fine," I told her. "I've always been fine with them."

We then went out of the bathroom and I checked my laptop for emails. Found the one I was looking for.

_Dear Crystal,_

_Do not worry, for we have found Sunni and Rocky. Those stupid Proxy hunters got them. Anyway, I can't wait for you to come home! Slendy already told me you're staying with us, and I know you're going to love it! Anyways, I'll see ya later today!_

_From,_

_'Ricky'_

"Ah," I said. "Good old 'Ricky'…"

I then read the email out loud to my friends, and they were glad that the two were safe. I then closed the portable computer and packed it away. The guys then came in and helped us pack away everything into the cars, and soon enough, it was time to depart the new friends and go home.

"Well," I told the two girls and the two guys with them. "I guess we'll see you later, then."

"For the rest of the month of, I'll be happy to see ya guys when we come back," Laura said. "Anyways, goodbye!"

We then said the rest of the goodbyes to the group, and headed into the blue truck, with the same seating as last time. The others were in a white minivan, which was really cool. We left first, and headed for home. It only took a little bit to get on the road, and we were off.

"Wow," Gemm said from the back as we were driving into the state. "The sky's pretty dark…"

She was right, for once was a blue blanket above us with white cotton balls was now black as coal. When we finally got towards home, I wasn't sure if it was even the right place anymore. A lot of trees fell over, dirt and trash covered the streets, and even the houses seemed gloomy.

"What happened here?" 'Greg' asked from the back.

I then drove around to the entrance of the woods.

"Better park my car here," I said.

The guys turned into their normal selves as soon as they got out. The whole place seemed to be covered in ash, and it was sad.

"Gee," Slendy said. "Sure is different around here…"

I then decided to take Gemm home and help her with her bags.

"Are you sure?" Gemm asked. "I mean, since there's-"

"I know," I interrupted her. "That's why I'm doing this…"

She then nodded in agreement as I carried some bags. We then walked slowly as we reached where my house once was.

"There it is," Gemm said in a long, low voice.

It was depressing. The only things left were black, burned wood of the house that once stood. The only thing that was still standing was the huge tree that was once outside my room, but now was just awkwardly sticking out of the pile.

"Can we jus go," I whispered to my friend.

"Yeah," she whispered back, and we kept on walking.

It was only a couple of seconds before we reached her house, and I said my goodbyes to her. I then walked back all alone. I stopped by the house once again, and I then had to pull myself away from it. When I reached the other guys, I tried to smile, but it was no use.

"Ah, gee," Jeff said. "Let's just get you to the house, you'll feel better soon."

It didn't take much to get my mind off the horrible place, for once I saw the hideout, I was smiling once again. The place looked as it once did when we first found it years ago. The old cave did bring back some good memories, and it didn't take long for one of the two to say something.

"It must've looked just like this when you first found it," Slendy said.

"It did," I answered back. "It looked exactly like this…"

"Creepy," Jeff chimed in. "Why does it look so much like it did in the past?"

"I don't know," I replied. "It's kind of weird…"

We just decided to keep walking on until we finally reached the house. The place still looked the same as we left it, and we saw 'Ricky' right on the porch, waiting for us. We both grinned as we looked each other in the eyes, and I ran up and hugged him.

"I guess ya missed me," he asked.

"Missed you?" I said. "I was needing you!"

He then chuckled a bit until I let go. We then entered the house, and I sighed.

"So," I said. "Where's my room?"

"I'll show her," Jeff said, and dragged me into a hallway. At the end of the long, narrow passageway, there was a cream colored door there that seemed out of place with the old oak wood. He then lightly touched the doorknob, but it was locked.

"Oh, dang it!" he said. "Where the heck is the key?"

"Looking for this?" 'Nathan' asked as he popped out of behind us, holding a brass key.

"Why are you in disguise?" I asked him.

"I told ya," he said. "I feel more comfortable this way."

"You know," I told him. "It's weird to me that you decide to stay in your own form even though it is _your_ house."

He then had a little shocked look on his face, and tried to come up with a way to fight me back, and eventually just sighed.

"Fine, you're right," he said. "It is kind of awkward…"

He then changed back and grabbed the key. Putting it in the lock, he opened the door, and I looked into the regular bedroom.

"Thank goodness there's no dead bodies," I joked.

"Thank goodness there are no tied up strangers…" Jeff muttered.

"Well?" Slendy asked.

"It's perfect," I told him. "Just like my old room…"

"Just get yourself unpacked, okay?" he said.

"Okay!" I replied, and started to take stuff out of my bag.

_Okay, let's see here…_ I thought. _I've got my clothes, my music, the laptop, and some other things… Better find a place to put this stuff…_ I then found the closet located to the right of the bed. I then started to hang up my clothing, and found a place to put some of my papers and things. I then began to sweep and clean until the place looked almost exactly like my old room, besides the designs and colors. The room even had a window, too, looking out into the backyard. I then decided to go out to the car and get some more bags in, until I noticed something behind the dark desk. I decided to check it out later, and headed out of the house and grabbed more bags. After I finally unpacked everything, I found myself something to eat and went back in the room to write some more music. I then saw what was off about behind the desk.

"What is that?" I asked myself, since clearly no one was with me. "Uh, better not mess with it…"

"Mess with what?" a voice asked, and I turned around to see the little black cat walk up to me.

"Oh," I tried to calm myself down. "It's just you, Zimmy!"

"Who else would it be?" he asked. "And what's this about something?"

"Look at this weird thing behind the desk," I said, pointing out the white corner towards the bottom.

"Whoa," the cat said, and turned into his human form. "Wanna find out what it is?"

"Maybe we should ask first…" I shyly said.

"Hey, I live here too!"

"Well, yeah, but…" I wasn't sure what to say next, for something felt off.

"What's the worse it can do?" 'Ricky' asked.

"No," I told him. "We must show this to someone else…"

"Fine," he groaned, and ran out of the room to fetch someone.

He then came back with Slendy, of course, and I showed him the unusual white thing.

"I don't remember this," he said. "'Ricky', help me move this…"

The two then backed the desk away to reveal a white door. We all looked at it, confused of why it was there.

"Um," I said. "Is that supposed to be there?"

The two just shrugged, and Jeff came into the bedroom.

"What the-" he began to say.

"I have no idea, either," 'Ricky' told him. "Slendy's the only guy who knows the whole place…"

"Of course I do!" Slendy said. "It's my house, anyways!"

The four of us just stared at the odd door, and I was the first to touch the knob. I then turned it, glad to find it unlocked, and pushed with all my might. The door then creaked open and revealed a dark room.

"Should we check it out first?" Jeff asked. "In case of… well… you know…"

"That'd be good," 'Ricky' replied.

The three went in, and told me that everything was fine. They didn't put the lights on, so it was pitch black.

"Why'd ya leave the lights off?" I asked them.

"Oh, woops," Jeff said, and I saw his shadow move over the wall.

The lights then flicked on to reveal the small room. The walls were a dark colored wood, and there was a small desk in the very back. There were glass cases on each side of the room, but they were too dark to see what was inside of them.

"What is this place?" I asked in a whisper.

"I, uh, think it's an old workroom," Slendy answered.

"A workroom?" I wondered.

I then began to look around, and I gazed upon the cases. There was defiantly something in there, and I tried to see what it was.

"Hey, guys, come look at this," I called to the others.

They came over, and looked in with me.

"Is there a key somewhere?" Jeff asked.

As 'Ricky' rushed over to the desk to look for any type of key, I tried to wipe the dust off the glass to see in. I could barely make out little figurines of some sort, and one was sitting on top of a box of some sort.

"Found a couple of keys," 'Ricky' said as he rushed back to us.

After trying to put a couple of keys in the lock, finally the glass doors opened with the gold key. It was then much easier to see what was inside. There was a little pained chest in there, and the figurine on top was a little mouse. There were many mice in the glass cases, and they added up to 13.

"Mice?" I asked. "They look familiar…"

I then realized where I've seen them before. _The dream!_ My mind shouted at me. _They're from the dream! It was a prophecy!_

"I've had a dream about these…" I whispered, and I looked closer at the one on the box.

"A dream?" Jeff asked. "Not another prophecy!"

I then told the guys about what I vision that night that I found out about the fire.

"And look!" I pointed to the one on the box. "This is the one that talked to me."

"I remember these now…" Slendy said. "I made these a long time ago. They were suppose to come alive, but it failed…"

I then made my way over to the desk, and I saw the one that looked like it was in the middle of being made. The little stuffed mouse wasn't done yet, for it's stomach was unsewn. I then tried to pick it up, when I realized there was something inside the mouse. I put my finger in, only to feel something squishy. I shrieked when my finger pulled the thing out, only to reveal a small organ. The mouse fell to the ground from my surprise, and my eyes got wide.

"What is it?" Jeff asked and rushed over.

When he saw the small heart on the ground, he made a disgusted face.

"What the-" he began to say.

"Slendy, why is there a human heart in this thing?" 'Ricky' asked, looking over my shoulder.

"Huh?' he answered. "Oh, that was suppose to bring them to life, I guess…"

Jeff then put the heart inside the mouse, and made sure that when he laid it back on the desk that I couldn't see the organ.

"But it's so small," I said. "How could a human heart be so small?"

"I think it's a child's heart," 'Ricky' said. "I mean, he had to hunt children when he worked with Jeff…"

I then glared at Slendy, who just shrugged.

"Ah, great," I muttered. "Can we just get out of here?"

"Sure thing," Jeff answered, and we all rushed out of the room.

The guys then closed the door, but didn't put the desk back. They then left me and 'Ricky' in the room, letting us get some rest. As soon as 'Ricky' turned back into Zimmy, he then curled up with me as I hopped into bed.

"Do you think they'll come alive?" I asked my little cat.

"I don't know," he said. "I hope they don't. If they really do grow like in your dream, then that'd be weird…"

I then tried to get some rest, and I did, but only for about 2 hours. I then woke up to nothing, and my head began to spin. I kept looking at the door, and I felt like I should go over and make sure everything was all right in there. I then began to walk over, but I accidently woke Zimmy up.

"What the heck are you doing?" he asked, grumpy from the lack of sleep. "You shouldn't be up!"

"I know," I whispered to him. "Something doesn't feel right. I need to make sure everything's fine in this room…"

"You shouldn't go back in," Zimmy told me. "It's not safe."

I ignored the cat and opened the door. I flicked on the lights and looked around.

"We shouldn't be in here," Zimmy told me. "This is bad. So very, very bad…"

I then made my way over to the desk. I looked at the little mouse on there with the stomach opened.

"Maybe I'll feel better if I sew it up…" I told Zimmy.

"If you really have to," he answered.

I then took out the thread and put it through the needle. I then sewed the little stomach of the stuffed mouse up and put it in the case.

"There, now let's go," Zimmy said, trying to rush me.

"Hold on," I responded, and headed to the case with the mouse on the chest.

"Crystal," the cat said, trying to pull me away. "C'mon!"

I opened the glass door with the gold key and looked at the mouse who had now fallen off the chest.

"I'm just going t put him back," I told the cat.

I then grabbed the little mouse, and I felt a little rush of energy go through me. I then looked at my mark to find it glowing.

"Oh, this is bad," Zimmy told me. "Put it down, Crystal!"

But I didn't. I held on to it until my mark stopped glowing and I put it back on the chest. I released the grip and started to move away. I then headed to switch off the lights, but a tiny voice stopped me.

"Hello. Who are you?"

**Chapter Eight**

_The Proxy Mice_

"Who's that?" I asked, scared out of my wits.

"Me," the little voice said, and I turned towards the case.

"Who's me?" I asked, shaking from fear.

I then walked slowly towards the case, and looked closely at the tiny mouse. I was then startled when the button eyes blinked.

"Uh, Zimmy?" I asked my cat. "Are you seeing this?"

"So it's not just me?" the cat replied. "We're in so much trouble."

"Are you the one calling me?" I asked the little mouse.

"Yes," it replied with the tiny voice. "My name's Chestnut. And you must be…"

"I'm Crystal," I told the mouse. "And this is my cat, Zimmy."

"I know the cat," Chestnut replied. "He was with me when the eyeless man made me."

I then realized that the mouse remembered whomever he saw. The mouse didn't know me because I'm new.

"The eyeless man is the Slender man," I told the mouse. "But we call him Slendy…"

"That makes sense," Chestnut said. "And Jeff's his apprentice…"

"Yes," I answered. "So, how come you're alive, but the rest aren't?"  
"They are very much alive," the mouse said. "Touch them, and they'll prove it to you…"

I then began to lightly touch each of the 14 mice that were there, and sure enough, they all came alive. There turned out to be 7 boys and 7 girls, including Chestnut.

"We're the Proxy Mice," one of the mice said. "My name's Snowy…"

Snowy was a little white mouse, for the rest were a light brown color.

"I'm Belle," another said, and she had a bell on her tail.

"I'm Brownie," another mouse said, and he was a dark brown.

So, all in all, the boys were Brownie, Chestnut, Sparky, Nutty, Pipsqueak, Droopy, and Fluff. The girls were Snowy, Belle, Hope, Sweets, Marshmallow, Joy and Heart. Heart was the one that I had just repaired, and she then had a giant stitched heart on her back. Joy had a star on her back, and Hope had a little circle. Marshmallow was really soft. Droopy's ears were large and went down to the ground. Fluff was very fluffy and Pipsqueak had a small tail. Nutty's ears looked like nutshells and Sparky had a lightning bolt on his back. Sweets was stripped like a candy cane.

"So, did my magic make you come alive?" I asked.

"You got it!" Sparky said. "You're the blue Proxy, so you are the only one with the right magic to keep us alive!"

I then watched as they all began to run around, and I realized that I had to go back to sleep.

"Okay guys," I said. "Can you please go back into the cases? I have to go to sleep…"

"Sure thing, Crystal," Chestnut said. "But let me give you something first…"

He then went to the chest he was sitting on (Which is why he was named **Chest**nut) and stuck the fuzzy tail into the lock. The chest then opened and he took out a vial.

"This is for you," he said. "This is a magic potion. Give it to anyone, and they'll shrink down an stay that way permanently."

"That'll be useful," I said, and thanked the little mouse.

"Okay, guys!" Chestnut called to the other mice. "Places, everybody!"

The mice then began to scramble up the cases and onto the shelves. I then closed the case doors to the one side, and then I went over to the case with the chest in it.

"Thanks," I said to Chestnut.

"Anytime," he whispered. "And I have to get to bed, too…"

He then yawned and went back to the position of when we first found him.

"Let's get out of here!" Zimmy said.

He then grabbed my PJ pant leg in his mouth and dragged me away from the glass case. I then switched off the lights and closed the door.

"Now, back to bed," I told my cat as I walked away from the door.

I then hopped back into the blankets and fell instantly to sleep. When I woke back up, it was already morning. I then got ready as I was going to breakfast. It felt a little strange with the other guys, but who can refuse awesome pancakes? After eating, I decided to at least tell the guys about what happened, and the looks on their faces were priceless.

"They came alive?" Jeff asked, stunned. "That means they worked!"

"Looks like they didn't fail," Slendy said. "Huh, that's good. Can you show us?"

I nodded and we walked back into the room. I then took out little chestnut again, and he blinked at me.

"Good morning, Crystal!" the little mouse said. "Oh, I see you brought people in…"

The two behind me were stunned, and unable to speak. The others then came alive, and they began to run around the place.

"What should we do with them?" I asked.

"I don't know," Slendy said. "I guess keep them in here?"

Chestnut then ran up my leg and onto my shoulder. I then smiled, seeing the mouse play with my blond-to-almost-white hair.

"Maybe we should check out the place more," the mouse wondered.

"Yeah," Heart said. "C'mon Joy and Hope, let's go check out the place…"

"Wait for me and Marshmallow," Sweets said as she dragged the little mouse with her.

"Hey, can we guys go, too?" Sparky asked, and the rest ran out the door.

"Better go catch them," Chestnut said, and hopped off my shoulder.

The little mouse ran out the door to round up the others.

"We closed the bedroom door, right?" I asked the others.

"I thought you did," Jeff said.

"Oh, for goodness sakes!" I exclaimed, and went to chase after the mice. "You guys better help me with this!"

We eventually got all the mice back into the room, and I had Chestnut on my shoulder again.

"Do you have the vial?" the mouse asked.

"What vile?" Jeff asked me.

"I have it," I said, and went to my drawer in my bedroom to retrieve it.

The vile was shaped like a heart and a light blue substance was in there. I explained to the others what it did, and they were surprised.

"That'll come in handy at some point," Slendy said. "I just know it will…"

I then took the mice and set them on my bed, and had my books from school to keep them from falling off.

"Hey," I asked the others. "Wanna turn tiny and join these guys?"

"Don't mind if I do!" Jeff said, and turned into his tiny self.

Slendy and I came right after him, and we joined the mice. You wouldn't believe how big these mice were when we were tiny. They were literally the size of us, all except Chestnut, who was a bit smaller than the others. We were playing pencil wars with them and bouncing on the bed as we did so. I was playing against Chestnut, and he eventually won when he knocked the pencil out of my hand. And, of course, these pencils were unsharpened.

"Good game!" I called to the now-large mouse.

"It was fun!" he said. "Hey, let's get the others for a giant pencil brawl!"

"And make teams!" I said. "Guys against girls!"

"You're on!" he bellowed.

The fight must've looked like a war to Zimmy, since he can't shrink down like we can. We were having so much fun, and the guys accepted the defeat when the girls won. I was one of the last ones standing, along with Sweets, Heart, Joy and Hope.

"This was so much fun!" I said when we turned back. "I should take you guys to Gemm's!"

"Are you sure you want to do that?" Zimmy asked. "They could get lost."

"He's right, ya know," Slendy said. "If they get lost, and one of those Proxy hunters finds them…"

"I never thought of that," I answered. "But I'll keep them in my backpack."

"I guess that's fine," he said. "Just be careful with them. I can't really make more anymore, ya know."

"I know," I answered. "Otherwise, that'd be horrible…"

I then took each of the mice and put them in the backpack. The only one I let out was Chestnut, who sat on my shoulder. I walked out of the house and made my way out of the forest. I then walked all the way to Gemm's house, carefully carrying the bag and keeping watch of Chestnut. I didn't even stop by where my house used to stand, for there was nothing left of it anymore but an empty yard. When I finally reached Gemm's house, I knocked once and the door flew open. Gemm then let me in and up to the bedroom. Her house has pretty much the same outline as my old house did, so I was happy to be walking through it. When I got to her room, I let out the little mice.

"OMG!" Gemm said. "These are SO CUTE! What are they?"

"They're Proxy mice," I told her, and began to tell the rest of the story and introduce each mouse to her.

"I like little Chestnut the best," she whispered to me. "He's the cutest!"

I knew he had heard, for it looked like he blushed a bit. I then scooped up the little mouse and let him sit on Gemm's shoulder. Nutty then came up with Pipsqueak and Sparky, and they began to climb on me. Fluff and Brownie were pencil fighting with sharpened pencils, and I had to replace then with unsharpened ones. They then continued, and I was watching the little fight. Gemm was playing with the girl mice and having a miniature tea party. When the clock stroke 5, I had to pack them up and go to the mansion and do homework. Gemm was sad that I had to leave, and she wanted to walk me home.

"Sure," I said. "You can carry the bag, but be careful!"

She did carry the bag, and she made sure the little bag didn't sway too much. We then got into the forest and pass the hideout, when I stopped dead in my tracks.

"What?" Gemm asked. "What is it?"

"SHHHHH!" I shushed her. "I think someone's in the hideout…"

"Then let's check it out!" Gemm whispered.

"I don't know," I whispered back. "Could be anyone in there…"

"You have powers," she told me. "You can fight them off, can't you?"

"I suppose," I said, but still unsure of myself.

We then slowly walked over to the hideout, and peaked in. When we did this, we found no one and nothing.

"Huh," I said. "I was sure I heard some-"

"Hello again," a deep voice said from behind us.

Both Gemm and I slowly turned around to see a tall, muscular man who just had a sly smile on. He then grabbed us by the scruff of our shirts and laughed.

"Gus…" I whispered, then shouted, "What are you doing?"  
"Hello, my dear," he said. "Look's like your little friends aren't hear to save you, now are they?"

Both Gemm and I began to scream as Gus carried us off.

"Wait a minute…" I thought aloud.

I then shot Gus in the face with a magical snowball, and that made him drop us. I then tried my special trick of flaming snow, which made him run for the hills. Bruce then came out from the trees and I shot him with the flaming snow as well, but I missed. It still resulted in him running away, and I chuckled when he ran out of sight.

"Let's go before more come," Gemm told me, and grabbed my arm to pull me off the ground.

We then ran to the mansion and found Jeff right outside.

"Whoa, guys," he said. "You look like you just saw a ghost. What happened?"

"Those Proxy hunters got us," I told him. "Bu my magic got them away. They were right by the hideout, like they knew we were coming…"

"Wait, what happened?" a voice said from behind the house, and 'Nathan' popped out.

"What's with the disguise?" Gemm asked.

"I have my reasons," he said, winking. "Anyway, these guys are getting way out of hand…"

"They could've done anything to us if I didn't have my powers," I told him. "Good thing I do have them…"

"Not for long," he said.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I mean they might not come to you all the time," he told me. "Your powers need to reload every so often, and when that happens, you can't use them!"

"So if they reload while I'm in trouble…" I thought aloud, and gulped in horror. "So what do I do when I can't use them?"

That's when 'Nathan' turned back into Slendy and said, "Then we need to get you someone who has full-time powers."

"But who?" Gemm asked.

"We would have to go to my cousin for that," he answered. "But we'd have to wait until December, for he's busy now…"

I then sighed, disappointed that I couldn't meet his cousin now. His family is always so interesting, and unusual, too.

"Then what do we do in the meantime?" I asked him.  
"You should stay in," he told us. "That's all I can think of…"

"Until we get back for Christmas break, huh?" Gemm asked, and he nodded. "If that's so, then I'll see ya later, Crystal!"

"You too!" I called back.

"C'mon guys," Jeff said. "Let's get back in before more of those hunters pop up out of nowhere…"

We then headed back into the house. I then watched the sky as hail began to fall.

"Why did everything change since we left?" I asked them. "The weather was never this bad out of all the years I've lived here…"

"Some times things just change, Crystal," Slendy answered. "Why it changed like this, I have no idea…"

"Huh," I said, and started to stare out the window into the hailstorm.

The storm was kind of pretty, I guess, if you like obliteration and destruction. I then stared hard and cold out into the white mist, and I saw a shadow out in the yard.

"Hey," I called to the guys. "I think someone's out there…"

Zimmy then came up with me, and gasped.

"What's Jess doing here?" he asked, and ran out of the house and into the snow.

**Chapter Nine**

_Scary Proxy Hunters_

As soon as 'Ricky' came back inside with Jess, he brought her by the fireplace and made a small fire for her.

"What are you doing here?" Jeff asked her.

"I-I'm war-warning Cry-Crystal!" she said, shivering from the cold.

"Warning me of what?" I asked her.

"Th-The hun-hunters are a-after y-you," she answered.

"I knew that," I said. "But why?"

"Th-they're try-trying to k-kill you…"

"WHAT!" I exclaimed. "This is bad. Oh, this is very bad…"

The others were shocked as well, and I knew we had to do something.

"You have to take her now, Slendy," Jeff told him. "This is getting _way_ out of hand…"

I then looked up at him, startled and scared as ever.

"I'm sorry," he replied. "We have to wait. Trust me, you don't want to see my cousin now during the cleanup season…"

"Huh?" I asked. "Wait, never mind, if you say no, then we won't go…"

I then smiled a comforting smile, and I tried to block out the horrible idea that someone's trying to murder me. It was defiantly a scary thought, and a bad one, too. When Jess was all warmed up, she explained more of the situation.

"They want to kill you so they can get to Slendy," she explained. "They want to kill him, too…"

"But obviously they can't," I said. "Because he's immortal. You all are, besides Jess, and they can't kill you guys, but I'm screwed!"

"Not entirely," Jeff said. "I mean, you could kill someone to become immortal…"

"No thank you," I sarcastically said. "For one, I don't want to kill somebody, and for seconds, I want to see my family again…"

"Yeah, we get that," 'Ricky' said. "But you can break it, too, ya know."

"Really?" I asked. "How?"

"You still have to kill the person to become immortal, but to break it, you would have to destroy something not living, like a special rock… or… what was it called?"

"Flint," Slendy answered him. "But even we can't do that, powers or not. I think we should just get the body guards for now…"

"But those two are idiots!" Jeff told him. "They are morons! You can't assign her to those two, for they won't know what to do!"

"Yes they would," Slendy protested. "They're smarter than you think…"

"Are they?" Jeff asked. "I've seen them mistaken ghost peppers for candy…"

"Okay, maybe not entirely smart," Slendy admitted. "But they would know what to do when she's in danger."

"He's got a point, Jeff," 'Ricky' joined in, and turned back into Zimmy. "At least they even have powers. The one can even fly, for goodness sakes!"

"Wait," I asked. "One can fly? And there's more than one?"  
"The two he's talking about are the fox and wolf that his cousin knows," Jeff answered. "The two knuckleheads do have some smarts, though…"

"So, you're going to hand off two animals to her?" Jess asked. "That's a 'great' idea!"

"They're magical, for one, Jess," Slendy told her. "And they aren't completely wild…"

The argument went on for a while, before I finally said that I wouldn't mind them. Everything just dropped at that since Jess was getting sick and would have to stay the night with us (Oh, 'goodie'). The only room available for her was in my room, and she would have to sleep on the floor. She didn't mind the Proxy Mice when she found them in the bedroom hopping around. I then got out my sleeping bag for her, since it would be hard to sleep on the wooden, cold floor. I then got into my PJs and went strait to bed. When I woke up, I realized that Jess was messing around with the tiny chest in the glass case.

"Hey!" I heard Chestnut yell at her. "Don't open that!"

But it was too late, for she already had it open and took out all the vials and dropped them on the floor. They didn't break, though, but they made a loud 'thud' when they hid.

"Look at what you've done!" the mouse cried. "And DON'T DRINK THAT!"

I then rushed out f bed and found her. She was just about to open the vial when I pounced on her and ripped it out of her hand.

"Do you even know what's in these?" I asked her.

"Magic potions," she replied like a know-it-all.

"And you know they're _bad_ magic potions, right?" I asked her.

She then had a surprised look on her face as she put the vial on the desk.

"Now, you've got to stop messing around with this stuff, okay?" I asked her.

"Fine," she grunted. "I just wanted some powers, that's all…"

I then shook my head as I put all the vials back into Chestnut's chest.

"Here ya go," I told the little mouse.

"Thanks," he said, and he placed it back on the shelf.

The rest of the day went normal with us just hanging out and doing our thing, and the rest of the break went like that, too, until it was time to head back to PA. The ride up wasn't bad, and we were there before the others could come.

"It's nice to be back," I told Gemm.

"Yeah," she said, and sighed. "But now I'm the only one without powers again…"

"What do you mean by 'again'?" I asked her. "You were back home, too…"

"No," she said. "I was with Emma, Sarah, Fern and their BF's," she said. "I should've listened and stayed in…"

"Uh, YEAH!" I shouted. "You could've been seriously hurt! Those hunters are trying to _kill_ me! Slendy didn't say it for nothing!"

"I'm sorry," she apologized. "I just wanted to-"

"No," I interrupted her. "This is **not** okay. I know you just wanted to hang out, but who knows what they could've picked up!"

"Crystal, I just forgot!" she yelled back. "I forgot, that's all…"

I then got myself calm down enough to say, "I'm sorry I yelled. It's just, I don't want to die!"

"I don't either," she whispered. "Nobody does…"

We then got ourselves situated and soon enough, Laura and Emily joined us.

"So, how was your break?" Laura asked after we got settled down.

"I found more stuff from Slendy's past…" I answered. "Including the Proxy Mice…"

I then explained what they were, and the two girls nodded.

"We did Thanksgiving with E.J.'s family," Emily told us. "And **that** was interesting…"

"Crystal's being hunted down!" Gemm blurted out.

"What?" Laura asked. "Let me guess, by those Proxy hunters?"

"Yes," I sighed. "They're trying to kill me…"

"WAIT, WHAT?" Both Emily and Laura screeched, stunned and horrified.

"It's true," Gemm said. "It's pretty bad…"

"Slendy's going to get me two bodyguards," I told them. "So I should be fine…"

"Okay, if you say so," Emily said.

"Hey, let's just watch some T.V., okay? I've even brought my old television from my house!" Laura told us.

"Oh, cool!" I exclaimed. "Yeah, let's just take it easy today."

The rest of the day we watched different shows and a little bit of the news when a message came on.

"What the-" Gemm began to say, but was interrupted by the high pitch squeal of the T.V.

"We interrupt this message for some breaking news," the screen shouted at us.

The screen then turned black and then to white until it flickered. Then, the face of Bruce appeared on the screen, and Gemm and I jumped from fear.

"We're on the hunt for you," the man said. "We know where you're hiding, and you can say goodbye to life…"

Us girls just stared at each other, stunned.

"Who's he talking to?" Laura asked.

"Me," I shyly said.

"But why?" Emily wondered.

"Because," Gemm answered her. "They want to get to Slendy for some reason. Right, Crystal?"

"Right," I answered her. "And that's why I'm getting those body guards…"

"Makes sense," Laura said. "But are you sure they mean here when they say 'we know where you are'?"  
"I have no idea," I answered slowly and in a whisper.

That's when the door knocked. Laura answered it (like always) and opened it up to see the guys standing there.

"Did ya see the news?" 'Brody' asked. "Who was that guy?"

"A Proxy hunter," Emily answered him. "He's going after Crystal…"

"That's not the only one," I joined in. "There's more. Tons more."

"We have to be on guard at all times," 'Nathan' said. "We can't let them get to her."

"I don't think anyone wants to let them get to her," Gemm muttered.

"So, what do we do to protect her?" Laura asked.

"I have a couple ideas…" 'Greg' joined in.

"Like what?" I asked.

"Like boarding up the windows, not letting anyone in…" he listed.

"How do we know whom to let in?" Emily asked.

"Password?" 'Jake' wondered.

"Yeah!" I said. "What should the password be?"  
We came up with a couple of good ideas like cheeseburger, cheesecake, sparkle, and just plain knock.

"Let's just do _slender_," I told them. "I mean, c'mon, everything we've done at home was always like _Slender Woods_, _Slender Hideout_ and things like that…"

"Makes complete sense on why it would be that," 'Greg' said.

"Okay," 'Brody' told us. "The password is slender. Everyone agrees on that?"

"Agree!" pretty much everyone shouted at once.

"Now that that's settled," 'Nathan' said. "I should prepare for class tomorrow…"

"Oh yeah," I said. "Don't you have that teaching class or something?"

'Nathan' was going for just a regular teaching job. Tomorrow was a class where you have to teach an easy subject to a bunch of kids, or something like that.

"Yeah, I do," he answered. "Going to be really interesting…"

"You have the brief case, right?" I asked him.

"Yep," he replied. "Comes in handy a whole lot…"

"Wait here," I said, and went to grab something from under the bed.

As I searched under the bed, I realized how messy it was under there. _I have to do some cleaning this weekend_, I thought. I then found the foil can and wriggled out from underneath.

"What's that?" 'Nathan' asked me.

"Pepper spray," I answered. "You never know when you're going to need it…"

"How am I suppose to use this?" he asked. "I can't spray kids, otherwise I'll be in huge trouble."

"Just threaten them with it," I told him. "And besides, I don't think you'll have a problem calming them down… I hope…"

"Maybe we should go with him," Laura thought aloud. "Incase he turns back from anger…"

"What?" Gemm asked. "I think he can-"

"Hold on," 'Jake' interrupted. "She has a point. Both 'Brody' and I have this problem. I'm sure the other two do as well…"

"It's true," 'Greg' said. "That is a problem under **huge** pressure. We're not suppose to be dealing with kids in the first place, anyways…"

"Maybe we should just be in the class…" I thought. "I mean, how old are these kids going to be? Like, 10?"

"18," 'Nathan' told us. "They're volunteers. I guess you guys can come, but I'm not so sure…"

"We'll just talk with whoever runs this class," Emily told him. "I mean, how hard can it be? What's the class on anyways?"

"Cooking," 'Nathan' said. "It's just a random cooking class…"

**Chapter Ten**

_Slender Teacher_

"Okay…" I dragged out, knowing that this is a problem.

For one, 'Nathan' can only cook some things. Second, nobody even really pays attention in that class, or at least my friends and I didn't. Third, it's going to be a lot of pressure on him, which is totally bad.

"We have to come then," Gemm burst out loud. "Since this is going to be a challenge…"

Long story short, we were aloud to sit through the class since we were around the same age. It didn't take much to convince the teacher for that class. Of course we had to make an excuse and all we said was that he had some random condition about staying low on stress. When we did take our seats that day, I knew it was going to be interesting. Very, **very** interesting.

"Everybody take their seats," 'Nathan' announced, seeming very teacher-like.

The beginning wasn't to bad, and everybody was listening. He kept his temper very low and wasn't nervous at all. He was just teaching on how to cook rice and veggies, which weren't that hard. We were even aloud to cook with the class, and **that** was fun. When we went in the little kitchen, I got to chat with the others.

"This is going well," I told them.

"Yeah," 'Greg' said. "I mean, it's easier when they're over 16 years of age. If they were around 10, we'd have more of a problem."

"So, let's get this rice made," Laura conducted us, pulling out supplies and different seasonings.

I had to stir everything in, but it wasn't so bad as doing nothing. When we finally had it done, we had to put spray butter on it.

"I think this is the can," 'Brody' said as he grabbed the only spray can up there.

"Makes sense," I told him. "There are no other bottles like it. Everyone else has been using this one…"

I then watched as Gemm sprayed the whole plate with it. She said that rice should be really buttery, giving it a lot of flavor.

"If you say so," Emily said as she put the can back.

We then prepared the rice on a plate for the sampling of the other students. When we had the plate covered, we placed it on the table with only one or two other plates.

"I guess we sit down now," Laura told us. "That's what the other kids did."

We decided to do so and just watch 'Nathan' teach the rest of the kids. Good thing we were all next to each other so we could talk.

"He's doing a good job," I told them.

"Yeah," 'Jake' replied. "It's going really well."

We then watched the other kitchens, and I realized something. The other kids were looking at the knives on the table. Not only were they extremely expensive, but very sharp, too.

"Uh, should those kids be touching those knives?" I asked my friends, but said it really loud so 'Nathan' could hear us.

"I don't think so," Gemm answered, saying it a little loud, too.

We watched as he looked up and to the other kitchens, catching them in time before they either cut themselves or break the knives.

"That was close," I told my group of friends, but not as loud.

"That would've been really bad," 'Greg' said.

"Uh, teacher?" We heard one of the students say. "What do we do now?"

'Nathan' went over to help them, and then another group was asking questions.

"Hold on," he said. "One at a time…"

But soon, the whole room was filled up with questions. And that's when it got bad. We listened closely, and we realized the fight going on. The boys were about to take out knives, when 'Nathan' stopped them.

"You two," he said. "Sit down."

They did so, but as they walked back, one of them was cussing. And not just one word, but every word that was extremely bad, and even some we didn't know. We had to act, and fast.

"Hey," 'Greg' said to the kid who was cussing. "You're not supposed to do that."

"I don't care," the kid snapped back, but with more rude language.

"Oh, really?" 'Brody' asked. "You don't care that you have a bad attitude?"

"I don't have a bad attitude," the kid said again, all snappish and with cussing in it.

"Crystal," 'Jake' asked. "Can you please get 'Na- um the teacher?"

I nodded and rushed over to him. I told him what was going on, and he quickly came.

"You," he said, pointing to the kid cussing. "What's your name?"

"John," he snapped at him.

"Can you please stop the language?" he asked politely. "I had enough of this."

"What's your deal?" John asked. "I can do what I want. Like this…"

He  
then tackled 'Nathan' to the ground.

"Oh crap," 'Greg' said, and ran for the brief case. "Here, catch!"

He then threw the foil can to me, and I handed it to 'Nathan', who caught it perfectly. He tried to spray it on the kid, but nothing happened.

"Wait a minute," he said. "This is butter spray!"

"But if that's the butter spray…" I began to say, and I looked at the other can. I then rushed quickly to it and tossed it to 'Brody', who then threw it at 'Nathan' for another perfect catch. When this was sprayed on the kid, John shot back and curled up on the floor.

"Are you alright, teach?" I heard one of the students say.

"I'm fine," 'Nathan' said, leaning over John. "Can someone get the nurse?"

I watched a couple of kids run down, and I looked at the food. _Oh crap!_ I thought. _We put pepper spray in the food! This is bad!_

"We can't eat the food now," I told the others. "There's freaking pepper spray in it!"

The kids were disappointed, but I stepped up and began to speak.

"Hey," I said. "At least we even cooked! Imagine if we just sat through this class, doing work? It would be boring and suck. I think the most important thing is that we now know how to cook these things. And I think we all had fun doing it, didn't we?"

The kids all nodded in agreement. I heard one kid begin to clap for me, then another and another until everyone was applauding. I just blushed a bit, but kept my head up high. That's when the other kids came back in to take John down to the nurse's office, with the help of some grown-ups. I then watched as they carried them out, and we began to clean up.

"It sucks that we have to throw all this food away," I said. "But no one wants to have pepper spray in their mouths!"

"True," Gemm replied. "That would've been a big mistake, and we doused our rice in it!"

When the whole place was cleaned up and the kids left, we stayed behind to walk out with 'Nathan'.

"That was hard," he eventually said. "I can't believe someone would even tackle me to the ground!"

"Are you going to get in trouble for the pepper spray?" I asked him.

"Maybe," he answered. "Depends on what the teacher says."

We then walked out of the building and back to our dorm. When we did get to our room, us girls just laughed.

"We almost ate pepper spray!" Gemm laughed.

"That would've S-U-C-K-E-D!" Laura spelled out.

"Good eye, Crystal!" Emily told me.

"Thanks," I said. "And I'm surprised people clapped for me in that speech!"

"You did good with that," Gemm told me.

"Yeah!" Emily and Laura said simultaneously.

I then giggled with the replies, and we all just watched _Doctor Who_ on the T.V. for the rest of the day.

"This is like my favorite show!" Laura said.

"Mine too!" Emily joined in.

"I watch it sometimes," Gemm told them. "And so does Crystal!"  
"I always thought this storyline was interesting," I chimed in. "Since it's all about aliens and what-not."

"I know," Emily said. "I always thought the gadgets were cool."

"I'm just in it for the British accents!" Laura joked, and we all giggled.

When the last show was over, I decided to get to bed, since it was already 9:00 at night. I then hopped into my PJs and fell into a deep sleep. The next few weeks of school went well, and everything was fine (except the tons of homework) until the week before we leaved. We were going to set up Christmas décor, but I felt a little depress.

"Don't worry, Crystal," Gemm told me. "Shopping will get your mind off it. I know it always has for me!"

"Yeah," Laura said. "Maybe shopping for Christmas decorations will get your mind of, uh, whatever you're thinking."

I smiled at them, and I left with them for the party store. When we went in, we found a whole bunch of good stuff in there.

"Maybe if we have bows instead of spiders for Halloween?" I suggested.

"That's a great idea!" Laura said. "Let's grab the same colors as our spiders were, and let's find snowflakes to decorate the door!"

"How about some mistletoe?" Gemm asked. "I still remember that year with Crystal's gift."

I began to blush. Of course, I had to tell the whole story of that Christmas of the first official kiss, and I was laughing at the memories.

"It sounds like so much fun!" Emily said. "Maybe I should try it on E.J…."

"And Masky for me!" Laura joined in.

"You can't do it the same year!" Gemm told them. "It seems to weird. When Crystal did it, she had it as the very last gift."

"Oh, that's so romantic!" Emily grinned. "You had a good scheme for that!"

We then continued to look for decorations, and we even found little snowmen for our door, too! We did get the mistletoe and some holly, too, and found a tiny tree for the room.

"We can't be complete without the tree!" Laura said as she grabbed the really small fake tree.

"It looks so cute!" Emily said. "We can defiantly put some presents under that before we leave, since you guys are going to do it back at home."

"Oh, yeah," I said. "Forgot that you're not going to be there with us! I need to get started then…"

"She makes homemade gifts," Gemm whispered to the two. "It doesn't take her long…"

"Oh, cool!" Laura exclaimed. "I wish I know how to do things like that. The dolls aren't really much of a gift, since only I can use them…"

We then giggled a bit as we went to check out for the items. I then smiled as we took the things back to the dorm and began to decorate. When the guys walked in on us doing so, they were amazed.

"How do you guys have the money for all this?" 'Greg' asked.

"We all put in, like, $20 for this stuff," I told them. "It does pay off for some nice décor."

"Nice," 'Jake' replied. "I like the mistletoe…"

He then dragged Laura under it, and you could guess what happened next.

"Guys," 'Brody' groaned. "C'mon! Not in front of everyone…"

They then stopped, and giggled.

"Hey, we're next!" Emily shouted, taking 'Brody' by the hand to do the same thing.

"Oh, great," 'Brody' muttered, but his attitude went away when they started.

Both 'Nathan' and I just rolled our eyes, laughing as we did so. When they stopped, we explained the gift thing to all of them, and the few questions were being passed around.

"Can it be for everybody?" 'Nathan' asked.

"Sure!" Laura answered. "But it has to be for **everyone**!"

"I've got a couple of ideas in mind…" he thought aloud.

"Can we give just one gift?" 'Jake' asked. "You know how I'm short on money…"

"It can be homemade, ya know?" Laura told him. "And I guess that's fine. One gift will do."

We then thought of some gifts to bring, and when the guys left, I went to go make Laura and Emily some stuffies like I did for my other friends years ago. I decided to make Emily a bat, of course, and give Laura a cute little bunny.

"This is going to be so cool!" I whispered to Gemm as I started to make them. "I can't wait to see the look on their faces when they get these!"

"Let's just hope they don't come alive like the Proxy Mice did!" she joked.

I then giggled as I began to weave the needle through the fabric and back, putting stuffing in the animal as I went. When they were done, I put them in a small box and wrapped them in bright colored paper.

"Now I'm done," I told her. "So, what do you think the guys are going to give?"

"I don't know," Gemm replied. "I wish I knew what."

As the week went by, and it was the day before we had to give our presents. When I came back to my dorm that day from my last class, I began homework right away until it was almost midnight. When I was done, I just hopped right into bed, wondering how tomorrow's going to go. I felt like this year was feeling completely different from last year, but I guess it's the fact that I'll be somewhere else other than the usual home with my mother. I guess that's why I felt a bit depress, too. It was always my mother's favorite holiday…

That's when I felt the shake of my arm. I looked up to see Gemm's face right against mine.

"Come outside, quick!" she told me. "You'll never believe who's out there!"

"Who?" I asked.

"Just get dressed and come on out!" she told me again.

I quickly got dressed in a blue sweater and jeans. I then brushed through my hair quick so I looked presentable and began to put my boots on.

"HURRY!" Laura told me, as she was getting ready to head out the door.

I ran down with the girls to see what was out there. When I did get outside, I couldn't believe my eyes.

**Chapter Eleven**

_The Awesome Gift_

"I can't believe it!" I told the others. "Is it really-"

"Yep," Gemm laughed. "I didn't even know that our favorite band was coming down here!"

"Hey guys," a voice said right behind us.

"Oh, hey 'Nathan'," I said as soon as I turned around.

"You like my gift?" he asked.

"Wait…" Laura said. "_This_ is your gift?"

"Yep," he replied acting casual. "And I got you guys backstage tours as well…"

"How did you-" I asked him, but he put a finger up to my lips.

"I have my ways," he slyly said. "Anyways, you guys have fun meeting them…"

We were all in total shock as he led us **right** up to them. It was so cool talking with our favorite band and getting pictures and autographs.

"Okay, seriously, Crystal," Laura whispered to me. "You have the best BF ever!"

"I know," I smiled. "He likes to do these things. Anyways, let's enjoy this awesome concert!"

We then found spots among the crowd of people, as we began to party right up front. We were all laughing and having so much fun that we didn't even realize that they were singing their most famous songs and their whole Christmas album.

"This is **amazing**!" Emily shouted over the crowd. "I never received an awesome gift like this before…"

When the concert was over, we headed back to our dorm to give out presents. The guys were already there, waiting for us to return.

"So," 'Greg' said once we got in. "How was it?"  
"It was AWESOME!" Emily and Laura screeched.

"Uh, exactly what they said," Gemm joked, when got us to giggle a bit.

"Now, c'mon!" 'Brody' told us. "Let the gift giving begin!"

Of course, the girls loved my gifts to them, and they were happy to receive them. I gave 'Brody' and 'Jake' stuffies, too, and 'Brody' got a possum while 'Jake' got a hedgehog.

"These are awesome!" 'Brody' said. "How long do these take?"  
"About an hour or so," I answered. "Not too long."

They then gave me my gifts, and I got a couple of CD's from my favorite band (the one we just went to) and a couple of jewelry.

"Thanks guys!" I told them. "These are so nice!"

"No problem, Crystal," 'Jake' said. "We all pitched in on these gifts…"

I then leaned over and hugged the guys, and they both began to blush.

"At least she's hugging both of them," I heard Laura mutter.

I then let go as I watched the guys hand out their presents to each other. They did get some nice gifts, and it was fun watching their reaction.

"Okay, now let's clean up this mess," I sighed. "It looks like Christmas morning around here!"  
As we shared jokes while we cleaned up, we were laughing and having a good time. We then got packed up for about a months worth of vacation. We had to pack **everything**, but it wasn't so bad when you had three extra sets of hands.

"Are we done?" I asked them.

"I think so," 'Greg' answered. "Looks done to me."

"Can we leave early?" I asked, but I knew the answer.

"I don't think so," 'Nathan' laughed.

I just moaned, and decided that we should head out to do something.

"Wanna just go get lunch at the café?" I asked them.

"Nothing better to do," 'Brody' said. "Unless you wanna scare some people…"

"Sure," Laura said. "I guess I'll lore people in with Gemm, since we can't really scare people with what we have."

The guys then turned back to their own selves, and I was glad that they hid right away when they did so.

"So, how are we going to do this?" Masky asked.

"I don't know," Jeff said. "Now be quiet! People can see us…"

"Don't be so bossy!" E.J. muttered. "Nobody's the boss here. Let's just wait for the girls, alright?"

"Who said anything about being bossy?" Jeff said, totally pissed of.

"Will you guys just shut up!" I heard Slendy say. "Do you want to be caught or not?"

That's when they all just went silent, and I knew that this was going to be interesting. I mean, what's not interesting about this?  
"Hold on guys," I whispered to them. "Let's just get you into the dorms…"

"How about they just cruise around town," Emily said. "I mean, it's like their in costumes, and I don't think anyone will mind."

"Are you crazy?" I asked. "What are we going to say about this?"

"Costume party?" Jeff suggested.

"Hey, that's a great idea," Emily said. "A costume party at our dorm! But which one?"

"The guys," I answered her. "We did so much at our dorm. Here, take my cellphone and call either Laura or Gemm. Tell them to get some people to this awesome party!"

As she did so, we got the guys to just come out and chill with us. Nobody minded them at all! Only a couple people asked, and when we told them about the party, they wanted to come right away. We set the party up for around 4:00 noon, and when we set up the party, a whole bunch of people were already at the door.

"We have party guest!" I heard Laura say as she opened the door.

Us girls just got our Halloween costumes from this year to dress up in. The party was awesome, and it reminded me of the parties we had at the hideout years ago. We just called the guys by their disguises names, so it didn't seem odd at all.

"This is an awesome party!" I told 'Nathan'. "We should've thought of this years ago…"

"No kidding!" he said. "It's like Halloween and Christmas has collided!"

The party lasted for the whole entire day, making it almost a 6-hour party! We still partied until the last couple of people left, and then the guys turned back into their disguises.

"OMG!" I said. "Most successful party yet!"

"Let's head back and get ready for tomorrow," Laura said, literally pulling me out of the room.

When we did head back in our own dorm, I literally got ready for bed. Then, I hopped down in the covers for a long night's sleep. When I woke up the next morning, I was ready to get to the car and drive all the way back home. I joined the guys at the truck when I was ready to go, and Gemm came down right after. We then said our goodbyes to the others and started to head down the long, winding road back. We sat the same way as we did last time, and we were joking the whole way down.

"Looks a lot better already," I told them, as we got closer to the New Jersey state.

"Yeah," Gemm said from behind me. "It's a lot clearer now…"

"Not as dark," 'Greg' joined in. "And not raining or hailing."

"Just the way I like it," I said, and that's when we passed the borderline between Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

"Only a couple minutes away," I told them. "Like, about half and hour."

"That's not too bad," 'Nathan' replied. "It could be worse…"

"Hey," I asked him. "Aren't we going to see your cousin?"

"Tomorrow," he told me. "It'd be too much for today."

"True," I replied. "It would be a lot between unpacking and all that."

We then headed down to our old hometown and to the entrance of the forest.

"It's good to be back," I told them.

"I guess I'll grab my things and go," Gemm told us as she lifted the trunk of the truck.

"Should I walk you down again?" I asked her.

"No need," she told me. "I'll be fine."

She then grabbed her suitcases and headed down towards the neighborhood. I then grabbed all my things and headed down towards the mansion.

"I wonder what the Proxy Mice did while we were gone," I thought aloud.

"Probably slept," 'Greg' answered. "Or mess the whole house up."

"Please let it be that they slept in," 'Nathan' pleaded from behind. "Please don't let the house be destroyed!"

"But Zimmy's there," I told him. "The house couldn't be in ruins."

"Oh yeah…" he said. "Forgot about that."

I then chuckled a bit. I was beginning to see the shadowy figure of the house as we walked across the grassy floor of the forest. As we neared the house, we saw Zimmy in the window, watching the place.

"Hey Zimmy!" I called out to him.

"Home already?" he asked. "I didn't expect you to be back so soon."

"Thank goodness the house isn't ruined," 'Nathan' said. "That would've sucked if it was."

"Of course not," Zimmy told him. "I would never let that happen. Anyways, Jess had to stay over a couple of nights due to the weather."

"That's fine by me," 'Nathan' replied. "How are the mice doing?"

"They're just sleeping," the cat answered. "They're waiting for Crystal to return."

"Oh, goodie!" I said. "I shall give my full attention to them once I'm done unpacking."

The other guys just laughed, and we all headed inside.

"We're there any signs of Proxy hunters?" I asked Zimmy.

"I'm sorry to say that there was," he told me. "They tried to get into the house many times. Good thing Splendor was here to-"  
"You let my brother into the house?" 'Nathan' asked, almost stunned.

"He was looking for you in the first place," Zimmy answered. "And I couldn't get him to leave!"

"Typical," 'Greg' said. "And why are we still in disguises?"

'Nathan' just shrugged, and they soon turned back to their Creepy pasta selves.

"Much better," Jeff laughed. "Okay, not let's get this stuff unpacked."

I then went to my room to unpack everything. When I was done, I went to mess around with the Proxy Mice, who were so much fun to mess around with.

"Hey Chestnut," I said after they were all out of their 'sleeping' stage.

"Hi!" he squeaked. "Where were you?"

"Collage," I answered. "Or school, whatever you'd like to call it."

"Oh," he said. "I guess you guys were having fun, huh?"

"Besides homework, yeah."

"What did ya do?" he asked.

"Costume party, decorate, and give out gifts, that sort of thing."

"That sounds like a lot of fun!" Chestnut told me. "Anyways, that Jess girl has been messing with our stuff."

"I'm sure she's just curious," I told him. "And don't mind her. If she gets hurt, it's her own fault."

"Anyways, I forgot to tell ya something," he said.

"What?"

"Well, did ya know that we have our own royalty here?"

"No, I didn't know," I replied.

"Well, I forgot to tell you that I'm now Price Chestnut, and Heart is the princess."

"Oh," I gasped, astonished by this. "That's cool."

"Yeah," he said. "Heart was so happy when she became the princess."

"But how'd you guys become royal?"

"We were nominated by the others," he said. "One day, I might even become a king!"

I then giggled as he held his chest high, looking strong and mighty, even though he was so small.

"Hey," I told him. "Just be careful of those Proxy hunters, okay?"

"I know," he answered. "I have the whole group under control. If one of those guys ever gets in here…"

"Well, I'm just warning ya!" I exclaimed. "Anyways, wanna have another pencil fight?"

"Your on!" he said.

The fight was fun, and this time, it was I who one! When I did finish this, I grabbed dinner and got some work done. I then went to writing music, and then I heard a knock at the door.

"Hold on," I called as I got up.

On the other end was Jess, who then rushed in and set up a sleeping bag.

"You're staying here again?" I asked her.

"I've got nowhere else to go," she told me. "My house is in ruins after the snow made it collapse."

"That sucks," I told her. "Mine went up in flames."

"I know," she said. "I heard the whole story a while ago."

She then went in the closet to put on her PJs as I was writing. When she came out, she had on a cute button down shirt and matching pants that were an emerald green and had white stripes on them. I then went in the closet to put on my PJs and when I came out, Jess was already in the sleeping bag. I then hopped into my bed and shut off the little lamp.

"Goodnight," I heard Jess say.

"Goodnight," I whispered back, but she was already fast asleep.

The next morning, I woke up to nothing but Jess snoring away. I woke her up to get her out of bed, too, and we both got ready for that morning.

"I wonder what's for breakfast," I asked her.

"Probably waffles," she said. "Since I wanted to make some today."

We did have waffles and pancakes, and they were awesome like always.

"Are we going out today?" I asked Slendy.

"Yeah," he answered. "Better get to him now before the hunters find us…"

When we were done eating, we headed out into the forest.

"How long's it going to take?" I asked.

"Not long," he replied. "It's in the forest…"

"His house?"

"Uh, not quite…" he said. "The portal to his hometown is."

"Huh?" I asked.

Zimmy was also coming along with us, just to help Slendy with directions.

"We should turn right then," the cat said. "I made a stone path to get us to there…"

We then came across the little pathway of stones and began to follow it. As we went along, the trees became all dead with barely any leaves. The grass was gone, and little lines on the ground striped the place.

"This place seems too familiar," I told them.

"It might," Slendy said. "I mean, you've probably seen this place before in a movie or two…"

"Really?" I asked. "I might've seen this before?"

"Well, it's not a famous movie," Zimmy told me. "But most people know it."

As we walked along, the sky just became such a pale blue that it almost seemed white. I felt like we were in a whole knew place.

"Oh, there it is!" Zimmy shouted as he raised his paw.

He pointed to a ring of trees. We walked towards it, and the place became more familiar. I then looked around, hoping to see something to help me. The whole place felt calm, but eerie at the same place. We then stumbled into the ring of trees, and it was then that I realized where we were.

"I know where we are!" I said. "I know where I've seen this before! I love Tim Burton films!"

The other two just laughed a bit as I looked in astonishment at the trees. There were seven of them, and each one had a door. The doors all represented a holiday, and each door opened up to a new place. I then realized why Slendy called these 'portals' instead of trees.

"Which one is your cousin in?" I asked.

"Guess," Slendy replied.

I then looked at each door, and I found the one with the huge pumpkin on it. I pointed to it, and he nodded. I then touched the brass knob and turned it slightly. The door opened, but all I could see was big, black emptiness.

"Ladies first," Zimmy joked.

"So, do I just hop down or what?" I asked.

"Just step on in," Slendy said. "Nothing to it…"

I took my right foot and found a place to put it, and then another until the blackness swallowed me up. I then felt the rush of wind as I began to fall. I heard the other guys as they fell, too, screaming in terror. I was having fun, but it was also scary. When I landed, I found myself on solid grounds right next to Zimmy and Slendy.

**Chapter Twelve**

_Cousin Jack_

"So, this is Halloweentown, I assume," I stated when I finally got up.

"Yep," Zimmy said. "This is the place. But we're actually right outside of town."

"Oh," I said. "Well, I was close!"

"C'mon," Slendy told us. "Better get going."

We walked right pass the scarecrow with the giant carved pumpkin on its head, as it pointed towards town when the wind whipped by.

"Gee," I said. "The movie is a lot less scarier than this…"

"That's because it's a kids movie," Zimmy told me. "Kid movies are always less scarier than the real thing!"

"He has a point," Slendy said over his shoulder.

I just rolled my eyes, but I also smiled as I did so. We were just about to be right on top of a graveyard, when I noticed the huge hill in the distance.

"That hill's pretty big," I said as I gazed at it. "One of the most famous icons out of this movie."

"But we're not in the movie," Zimmy told me. "This is the real deal! I mean the movie was based off this after Slendy disguised himself and-"

"All right, Zimmy," Slendy told the cat. "She can't know **everything**!"

We then came right up to the gate, and with one push, it opened up.

"Welcome to Halloweentown," Zimmy told me.

The whole place was eerie, but it was amazing, too. The buildings all seemed to be made out of the same material, and were a greyish-green color, too. There were a lot of buildings, and the passageways were narrow. We were coming up close to Town Square, and I could tell where we were right away just by the fountain. There was a lot of commotion going on, and I knew to stick close to the others as we went through.

"This place sure is busy," I whispered.

"It's like this year round," Zimmy told me. "It's very unusual for it not to be busy here."

The whole place was at work, making things and all that. I began to see familiar characters, like the mayor and some other people, doing their things and whatnot.

"So, where's your cousin?" I asked Slendy.

"Could be anywhere," he answered. "Just stay close, and don't get lost."

"Got it!" I exclaimed.

After a while of searching, I began to lose interest. We were basically circling around the place for a couple of minutes, and asking if anyone has seen him. I didn't even pay attention to the name. We came up to the final person to ask, and that's then I jumped out of my skin.

"Is someone asking for me?" a voice directly behind us asked.

"Ah, there ya are!" Slendy said as he turned around.

I slowly began to turn as well, only to find the most important guy in the whole town! The skeleton was dressed in a pinstriped suit, complete with a bat bow. He looked at the three of us with gazing 'eyes', delighted at the guests.

"And who have you brought with you, cousin?" he asked, looking directly at me.

"Oh, this is Crystal," Slendy told him, smiling at me.

"Hi," I said, being a little shy.

"Crystal," Zimmy said. "This is Jack Skellington. You know, the pumpkin king?"

"I know," I told the little cat, blinking with wide eyes.

"Hey," Slendy said. "We need your two friends from the other universe, the fox and wolf…"

"Oh, yes," Jack said. "They should be here somewhere… oh, there they are…"

I watched him as he looked towards the fountain. There, two figures were watching people work, directing them and doing different things.

"Oh, brother," Zimmy whispered to me. "If they're directing the place, then it's going to be a disaster."

As we followed Jack right up to the fountain, the two animals began to gaze at us.

"Oh, Jack!" The fox said. "Is that your cousin behind you? Hey Slendy!"

"Uh, who's the girl?" the wolf asked.

"This is Crystal," Slendy introduced me. "We're having trouble with those Proxy hunters."

"Really? Again?" the fox asked. "Those guys never stop hunting for you guys! I thought they went to jail!"

"They broke out," I told him.

"Wait a second," the wolf joined in, looking at my arm. "Are you the blue Proxy?"

"Yeah," I answered.

"Then I'm Prowler," the wolf said, and then pointed to the fox. "And that over there id Foxadore."

"Foxadore and Prowler?" I thought aloud. "Easy to remember…"

The fox then yawned a bit, showing big, black wings on his back.

"You have wings?" I asked him.

"Yeah," Foxadore said. "Had these ever since I was born!"

"So, how'd you guys get here?" I asked them. "You came from another universe or something?"

"Oh, yeah…" Prowler said. "You see, I build this machine that can transport people from one world to another, mostly transporting people in and out of our world. We then had a little accident with it. The two of us fell in it and were transported here. Then, you can guess the whole rest of the story…"

"So how'd you guys get back?" I asked them.

"Had to contact one of our friends by using this well right here," Foxadore answered. "Good thing Tim knew how to work the machine…"

"Well, anyways," Slendy cut the two off. "The Proxy hunters are trying to kill her. You guys have powers, so you can protect her."

"Doesn't she have powers, too?" Prowler asked.

"Don't you remember?" Foxadore asked him. "She can only use her powers so much before they have to reload."

"Oh, yeah…" Prowler said. "So we have to come back with you two, right?"

"Apparently," Zimmy answered him. "Anyways, we can talk more once we get out of here."

"What's with this killing business, anyways?" Jack asked. "I never understood anything from this…"

"You'll get it soon," Slendy told him. "It's too confusing to explain right now."

"Should we be heading out?" I asked. "I mean we can't stay here forever, even though I'd like to come back…"

"Then let's go back to the portal to take us out," Zimmy told us. "Only way out of here, anyways."

I just followed them to this weird circular platform that I assumed would get us back.

"That's weird," Slendy said. "Isn't it supposed to be glowing?"

"I don't think it's working," Foxadore said. "Look, I'm putting my paw on it, but it's not lighting up."

"Oh, great!" Zimmy sarcastically said. "How the heck are we suppose to get home now?"  
"Guess we have to fix it," Prowler said. "It'll take a week or two…"

"Weeks!" I exclaimed. "Then where are we going to stay?"

"Leave that to me," Jack told us. "I have room back at my place…"

_He did not just say that!_ I thought in my head. _We're going to be staying at __**his**__ house! This is awesome!_ My head was about to explode from excitement, and Zimmy looked at me as if I had three heads.

"What?" I asked him. "I'm a huge fan. Going into his house is like meeting a celebrity! How is this not awesome?"

"You've got a point," he whispered to me. "Just keep your excitement down!"

I tried to act casual and normal, like the others were doing. That's when I heard the sound of little kids coming through the town.

"Jack, Jack!" I heard a voice say.

"Look who we found!" Another said.

"She's like the other girl your cousin brought," said yet another voice.

"Show who you've found," Jack said.

The three kids came up to Jack, holding a big burlap sack. They were Oogie's boys, and I was a little afraid of who they captured.

"We found her in the graveyard," the witch kid said.

"She's hard to keep calm," the little devil one spoke.

"She's trespassing," the zombie boy told us.

I knew the names of each kid from watching the movie more than 100 times. The witch was Shock, the devil was Lock, and the zombie was Barrel. They opened the bag, and out came Jewel, Gemm's little sister. She had to be about the age of 15 by now.

"Jewel!" I exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

"I saw you walking in the forest," she told us. "And I followed you. I didn't know you were coming here!"

"Great," Zimmy said sarcastically. "Now she's stuck, too."

"What do you mean by 'stuck'?" Jewel asked. "We can get out of here, right?"  
"I'm afraid not," Slendy said. "The portal's broken. We're stuck here for a while…"

"Oh, no!" Jewel exclaimed. "What do we do now?"

We all looked at each other and shrugged.

"What will Gemm think?" I asked Zimmy. "Oh, she's going to worry a lot about her!"

"Don't worry," Zimmy tried to comfort me. "I'm sure we'll be out of here in no time!"

"You think so?" I asked him. "But Prowler said-"

"Prowler's mind is the size of a pea," the cat told me. "And so is Foxadore's. They may seem smart now, but they get dumber than this. They drank soda with pop rocks in it. How is that not stupidity?"  
"You have a point," I told him. "But the wolf built a machine that brought them here in the first place! Are you sure he doesn't know what he's saying?"

"I don't know now," the cat replied. "For you have made an excellent point on that."

"Hey, Crystal," Jewel called to me.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"Wanna go tour the place while we're waiting?"

"Sure!" I said. "We'll see ya guys later."

"Just be careful," Slendy called after us.

When we got farther into town, Jewel said, "Slendy's become a boss all of a sudden."

"He's not bossy," I told her. "He's just trying to make sure we're safe. How would you like it if Gemm got hurt because you didn't warn her?"  
"Pretty bad," she sighed. "Yeah, you're right. It's just, the guy gets on my nerves for some reason…"

"It's because you don't know him well," I stated. "Don't worry, you'll get used to it someday…"

We then came across the giant hill that led into the forest. I then started to climb the hill, wanting to get to the top, when something caught my attention.

"Is that Zero?" Jewel asked me. "Awesome! I was wondering where he was!"

I giggled, knowing that Jewel was a fan girl as well due to her sister watching it a lot with me. With both of our knowledge, we could pretty much know who's missing and who's not. Jewel started to head towards the barking, when I stopped her halfway down.

"Better not," I told her.

"Aw, why not?"

"Something doesn't feel right…" I began to look around the place as I said this, feeling eerie and like something was going to pop out. "Ah, it's just me. C'mon, let's climb to the top!"  
We then ran up the hill until we reached the very top. We then sat down, and began to chat.

"I still hate how Gemm whines about not having powers," Jewel told me.

"I'm sure she'll get over it," I said. "She always does…"

"But she never stops complaining. It's crazy!" she exclaimed. "It's like she's gonna die if she doesn't get at least one power!"

"I'm sure it's not that bad," I told her. "Just wait until Christmas, and I'm sure she'll stop!"

"Gee, I don't know," she said. "She's been crying over this…"

"Oh, so your friend wants powers, huh?" a voice said behind us.

"What the…" I tried to say, but was too scared to.

That's when the two of us turned around, only to see nothing.

"I know how to solve this little problem," the voice said again. "But first, I'm going to need you…"

That's when Jewel fell backwards and I shrieked.

"HELP ME!" I heard Jewel cry over the sound of her screaming.

"Oh, no…" I said aloud, but I found out I was alone. "I've got to get help!"

**Chapter Thirteen**

_Jack's House_

I ran down the hill as fast as I can, worried sick about Jewel and whoever took her. I did see Zero on my way down, but I didn't gaze at the ghost dog like I would've normally. Instead, I rushed strait to him, panicking and gasping for air.

"Zero," I told the dog. "Go get Jack and Slendy. Tell them that Jewel's in trouble!"

The dog gave two quick barks before flying off, and I just waited for his return with the other two and maybe Zimmy. It was only a couple of minutes before the two came racing down, and I quickly explained everything.

"This is not good," Slendy said. "So not good. Jack, any ideas?"  
"Where were you two when she disappeared?" he asked.

"On top of the hill," I said, pointing to it.

"Then we better find evidence," he said.

"Or just run the way he went," Slendy told us.

"That, too," Jack exclaimed. "Let's go with your idea…"

It was then my turn to lead the group as I ran the way that I heard Jewel and the other person go. We eventually came upon a giant tree house, and I knew it wasn't good.

"But I thought Oogie was dead," I thought aloud.

"Nope," Jack told me. "He got himself together again. The guy can never die."

"I wish he could," Slendy joined in.

"C'mon guys," I told the two. "We have to go get her!"

I knew the only way to his lair was down, but how to get down was the problem.

"Is there any easy way down?" I asked them.

"Cling on the wall," Slendy told me. "Easiest way that I get down."

"Cling on to what?" I asked.

He then showed me the tiny slots on the wall that made out for a ladder or steps. I found a resting place for my foot and started down; scared of what would happen once I get down.

"Hold it!" I heard Jack say.

I stopped, looking through the small window that was provided there. Sure enough, Oogie was there with Jewel all tied up.

"Now tell me," the sack man said. "Where's this girl?"  
"My sister's at home," Jewel said, scared to death of this guy.

"Oh, crap," I said. "We have to act, and fast!"

"Let me go!" Jewel screamed at the villain. "I want to go home!"  
"Tell me where your friend is who wants these powers. I can give them to her easy. I must know where she is!"

"Oh, great," Slendy sarcastically said. "We're stuck between Gemm being in trouble and us being caught!"

"Not exactly," Jack told us. "Follow my lead, I know what to do!"

We slowly crawled down again until we reached the floor. As we kept low to the ground, we crawled our way until we reached right next to Oogie and Jewel.

"What now?" I whispered.

"The lever," Slendy answered. "Pull the lever!"

I grabbed the bright red lever and pulled it down, making the ground spin under Oogie's feet.

"Now, it's our turn," Slendy told me as both he and Jack stood.

"Oh, not you two!" Oogie said as he saw Slendy and Jack. "If you want the girl, come and get her!"

As the two went for the sack man, I ran over to Jewel and broke her free.

"Just stay quiet," I whispered to her. "This is not the place to be loud."

"Got it," Jewel said.

"Quickly, up the wall!" I told her as I lead her to the little slots in the wall.

When she was climbing, I told her to get Prowler and Foxadore to help us. She nodded, and when she reached the top, she ran to get them.

"Okay," I said. "My turn to try this…"

I looked at Oogie, and threw my traditional flaming snow at him. He did not burn for long, but it got to him. I laughed when I did this, and in to time at all, the other two were there.

"We came as soon as Jewel told us," Prowler told me. "Now, feel the wrath of us!"

As soon as I saw the wolf come forwards, I knew he had some type of snow powers, or something of the sort. _Wow,_ I thought in my head as I watched this all happen. _This is like some crazy dream! This has got to be one of the most interesting days in my entire life!_ It didn't take long for the fight to end, and for us to crawl out of the place and leave the sack man there to just be buried in Prowler's magic snow. As soon as we all got back to town, Jewel was happy to see us alive and well.

"What was that all about?" Jewel finally asked when we had the breath to speak.

"I'm not sure myself," I told her. "Seems like the sack man is after your sister now, so she better be prepared…"

"Oh, sure," Zimmy butted in. "How's she suppose to know?"  
"I'm just saying," I told the cat. "Anyways, I need to lay down. That was a lot of fighting we did."

"That is true," Slendy joined in. "Jack, you lead the way…"

Okay, first of, I could not even believe that I'm with the one and only Jack Skellington right now. Second, we are going to his house. Third, we are not only going inside the house, but _staying_ there, too! I felt like a little kid going to see Santa Claus for my first time (and it would be the real Santa, not the fake one at the mall who just sits there and barely listens to you). As we drew nearer to the house, which I've recognized due to my awesome movie knowledge, I felt my jaw drop and my eyes widen.

"Okay, this is it," Jack told us when we finally got to the door. "Hey, cuz, can't you and Crystal shrink down or something?"  
"Oh, yeah," Slendy answered him, and shrank down to his small, doll-like size.

I then picked him up and put the now-miniature Slendy on my shoulder, making sure that he had footing on the hilly surface. He soon sat down on my shoulder, and we entered inside. The whole house seemed like one of those haunted houses, with the dark walls and the red carpeting, but again, it's Halloweentown. He then led us into another room, and he told us that this is the guest room.

"Ah, sweet," Jewel whispered to me. "I can't believe this!"

"Me neither," I whispered back to her.

Once Jack left us, we situated ourselves on where we're going to sleep and all that.

"I guess me and Crystal will stay shrunken down," Slendy suggested in a squeaky voice. "It's the only thing I can think of."

"I guess so," I told him. "If Jewel doesn't mind the bed."

"Not at all," she said. "It's more of an honor to sleep in the bed."

I then shrunk down as soon as Slendy was off my shoulder and hopped up to the desk that was provided in the small room.

"What's with Jewel," Slendy asked me. "She's acting strange, and you as well!"

"We're big fans," I told him. "I've watched the movie so many times. Brings back the fun memories of when my dad and me sat right up against the T.V. and watched the whole thing, laughing and having fun."

"You still remember your father?" he asked.

"Remember him?" I said. "It only felt like yesterday when he left the house for the last time! He sticks out like a sore thumb in my memories."

I then laughed, remembering all the fun times back at the house that was now nothing. I then wiped away the memories before the bad ones started to come in and made a small bed for myself. It consisted of a matchbox with little pieces of cloth that I've found. Slendy made a similar one, and we put our beds back-to-back, since it wasn't creepy at all. I mean, the guy slept in my pocket, for heaven's sakes! When I finally got a chance to look out the window, I realized it was almost dark.

"This day sure went fast," I thought aloud.

"The days always go fast here," Slendy told me. "But the nights seem to take up the whole day. It's like the darkness wont ever lighten…"

He and I then started to have some fun by building a small fort out of the matches from the matchbox and some string to tie them together. When it was all done, the broken matches looked like a tiny Native American fort from the ancient times.

"This looks awesome," I told him. "Better go find some cloth to make it complete…"

I ran down the one leg of the desk and hopped onto the floor. Jewel was reading a book in bed at this time, and Zimmy was curled up right next to her, so she didn't see me when I ran out from under the door to look for some things. I didn't dare go up the steps, for I knew that would take me to Jack's room, someplace that I didn't want to be caught in. As I was roaming around, I did manage to see Foxadore and Prowler grabbing some things from another room (I still had no idea what rooms were what). When they first saw me, they almost thought that I was a bug of some sort, that is, until I used a bit of snow to show them that it was I.

"Crystal?" Prowler asked. "You have shrinking powers, too?"  
"That's awesome!" Foxadore said. "I wish I had those powers!"  
"Have you've seen any type of cloth around?" I asked.

"Oh, here," the fox told me, and then turned around and went to grab something.

When he came back, he had a whole bunch of little cloth pieces in his mouth, and spat them out to give to me.

"Oh, thanks," I told him, looking at the fabric that was before me.

"What are you doing with those?" Prowler asked.

"Me and Slendy are building a fort," I told them.

"Really?" Foxadore asked. "I've got to see this!"

"Can ya carry me back?" I asked, probably sounding silly with my squeaky voice.

"Sure!" he said, and he picked me up with one paw and placed me on his back. "I mean, we're staying in the same room, anyways."

I swayed side to side as the fox moved, since I was right on the shoulder blades. When we did come back into the room, I saw that Slendy has collected some cloth as well.

"Wow," Zimmy told us. "How much fabric does Jack have?"  
"We found this outside," Foxadore told the cat. "And anyways, his girl is a ragdoll, so that explains a lot."

"Oh," Zimmy said. "Right, forgo about Sally. Anyways, are you guys staying in here, too?"

"In the closet," the fox said. "Not too bad."

I then slid down the fox's back and headed up on the desk. I placed the cloth inside the fort, making it have a cozy floor.

"This looks cool," Foxadore said as he peaked at our little fort. "The mice back at home build ones just like these, but they're a lot larger…"

"Oh, that's right," I thought aloud. "You didn't come from here. What is your universe like?"  
"Well," the fox began. "There's a lot of towns with animals like us who can act like humans. There are regular animals there, too, but when it's hunting season, we're the more valuable ones. When we hunt, we go for regular animals, since we're not aloud to eat our own kind. We should take you there sometime, and I'm sure you'd love to meet the fun people we have there…"

"I've been there," Zimmy joined in. "You'd like it there, Crystal. With the mystical creatures and all that. You'd like all the cool, fun stuff there, too!"  
"So, what are you guys even doing here?" I asked the fox.

"We were helping Jack out," he replied. "We usually do each year…"

"Can you get back?" I asked, curious about the wolf and fox.

"Sure we can!" the fox answered. "We have these little things right here. When we push the button, we go back to where we were."

"Maybe you should go now," Slendy said. "I mean, better stay there while we wait."  
"Sure," I told him. "If I can, of course."

"No reason we can't," Foxadore answered. "After we fix it to the point where the rest of you can deal with it, then we can go!"

"That's a good deal," I said, and went back down to the wooded floor to find some decorations for the fort.

As soon as I went to the room where Prowler was, I found some tiny things that could serve as décor. When I headed back with these, we hung them up right away.

"That's better," I thought aloud after we hung up the last thing. "A fort is not complete without the proper decorations!"  
"She's got a point," Zimmy said from the bed.

Of course, Jewel was still reading her fantasy novel in bed. She only looked up once, and that was when Foxadore entered the room. She eventually placed the book down to finally go to bed. When she did this, I got a chance to get a peak outside the window, since she was blocking the view. The empty valley gave a little bit of scenery, but not by much. I then looked again to see that it was not completely empty. There was a bit of a dark figure that loomed and lingered in the valley, and seemed to stand there.

"There's something, or someone, out there!" I eventually said, and started to climb over to the windowpane.

Slendy, of course, joined me as I climbed over to get a better look at the shadowy figure. We stared long and hard, until he bumped me a bit to grab my attention.

"Is that a girl out there?" he asked me.

I took a closer look before I responded, "I think so."

After staring at the girl for a couple of minutes, I realized who was there. I stared wide eyed, and scared to death.

"It's Gemm out there!" I screamed. "If we don't do something fast, Oogie's going to grab her!"

We began to scramble down, until Slendy stopped me for a second.

"What?" I asked him.

"Better change into my disguise," he told me. "Just incase…"

"Incase someone follows you out?" I asked.

"Technically," he replied, and changed into his disguise in the blink of an eye. "Okay, now I'm ready."

I giggled a bit when he began to stare at me. I don't really know why I did this, but probably because of the little sparkle in his blue eyes. It was something I had only seen a few times before, but this time, the sparkle was glowing bright.

"What?" he asked, since I must've been staring at him for a while.

"Oh, nothing," I quickly answered, breaking the gaze.

We quickly changed back to normal size and headed out towards the figure standing in the valley. We were running as fast as we can, trying to save her, and when we finally got really close, I stopped him for a second.

"What now?" he asked me.

"Something doesn't _feel_ right," I told him.

"And by feel, you mean a feel in your gut?"

"No," I said back. "No, like, just a feeling in my head…"

"Bad or good?"

"I don't know."

"I hope it's good…" he finally told me, and trucked towards the girl.

As he pulled me along, I kept my gaze on Gemm. She had an awkward pose, as she stood there, with one leg half-up as if she were about to walk, and her eyes huge, as if she saw something. When we did get right up to her, she looked as if she was frozen in time.

"Gemm?" I asked, and tried to reach my hand out to her.

I slowly kept putting my hand out to her, hoping for her to do _something_, but she just stood there, like a random scarecrow in the middle of nowhere.

"I don't think she's-" 'Nathan' began to tell me, but was cut off by what happened.

As he was saying the words, my hand finally reached Gemm, but I screamed when my hand went through her, and I fell on the other side.

"A hologram?" 'Nathan' gasped. "But they don't have that type of technology here…"

I looked at the fake-Gemm and tried to touch her again, but I then only got the same response of me falling through her and her saying nothing.

"Where did this come from?" I asked him.

"It might've been from Foxadore's and Prowler's universe. They have these types of things, since technology over there is highly advanced. They use these with traps, mostly to catch their type, by projecting fox girls or boys right at the base of the trap…"

"But what would it be doing _here_?" I wondered.

And that's when it happened. I tripped on a small wire, and out of nowhere, a metal box fell down upon us, and we were trapped in darkness.

**Chapter Fourteen**

_Mark the Hunter_

"What the-" 'Nathan' yelled. "Where'd this come from?"  
Of course, I was screaming my head off from being scared and surprised at the same time. My eyes, from what I assumed, were as wide as the pumpkins we saw throughout the town. I knew that a wicked person must've been trying to get us, but who?  
"Who would do such a thing?" I finally asked when I calmed down.

"Who knows," 'Nathan' answered back. "But whoever it is, it's going to be someone who's hard to beat."

I then heard something move from under our feet, and the box began to close a floor under itself. We both literally jumped when we felt the floor touch the heels of our feet, and I knew we were trapped for good. I didn't want to use my magic fire to burn the box, for we would burn with it! The box then began to move, and the swaying motion began to make me sick.

"Please make this stop!" I called out, being tired of the swaying motion.

I then felt the box drop, as the falling motion startled me. A tiny window finally opened up from the front of the box (Or what I assumed was the front) and the little light shed through.

"What do you want me to do with them?" I heard a voice say.

"Keep them in their and don't let them out!" another voice directed, which I realized was the sack man (Who I decided to keep calling).

We felt the box be lifted again, and then placed down, more gently, and I tried to look through the tiny slot to see where we were.

"Okay," I told 'Nathan'. "From what I can tell, we're in the sack man's place lair, again."

"Oh, great," he said. "It's a lot harder to get out now…"

"And there's somebody new with him. Another man, and a girl, too…"

"A girl?" he asked.

"She looks evil, from what I can tell," I said. "She's wearing black leather clothing and a huge cape…"

"That's good enough to at least assume she's evil," he said back.

"Anyways, it seems they want us for something, of course, but I can't tell what…"

I couldn't see the other man with them, but I could see the girl clearly. She had bright red hair, the brightest hair I've ever seen, and she had blood-red eyes. Her hair was up in pigtails, but was so long that it hanged down to the floor. Her skin was pale white, and her cape that she had was a deep black, or a very dark blue, for I couldn't see it that well.

"Ruby," the other man called. "Will you please go find Foxadore and Prowler? We need them here to, uh, deal with them."

"Yes, Mark," the girl said, and left me view.

"Okay," I told 'Nathan', looking away from the little window. "The girl is Ruby, and the man is Mark. They want Foxadore and Prowler for some reason…"

"Hey," he finally said. "Let's turn tiny and get out of here!"

"Hold on," I replied. "Better wait for the other two to get here. It'll be much easier to save them."

"I see where you're going," he told me. "But are you really sure-"  
"YES!" I interrupted him. "Trust me. I'm your GF for crying out loud!"

He then glanced at me funny, but I didn't care. We were trapped in a box! I had to take the role of leader this time. I was also getting claustrophobic, and needed to do something fast.

"Okay, can we turn tiny for a second?" I asked him. "I'm getting sick…"

"Same here," he said. "And sure, but we're not leaving?"  
"No," I answered. "Not yet…"

It wasn't long before I could hear the voices of Foxadore and Prowler, carrying on and fighting against Ruby, who I assumed was holding them.

"Excellent," I heard the sack man say. "Now, trap them in the box as well!"

It wasn't long before the box opened up just a bit, and the two nearly fell on top of us. Both 'Nathan' and I shrunk down so we had more room, and I could clearly see my plan had now failed.

"Nice going," 'Nathan' glumly said. "Now what?"  
"We wait," Prowler told us. "Jack should be here soon…"

"Oh, forget him!" I told them, still taking lead. "We got to get you guys out of the box! But how?"  
"I got an idea!" 'Nathan' thought aloud. "Just follow me!"

I followed him as we climbed out through the tiny slot of a window and up to the top o the box. I could then clearly see what Mark had looked like. He was a tall man, but not as tall as Slendy. He had jet-black hair, and had a haughty face on. He was intimidating at first, but not extremely scary. I then stood on top of the box as 'Nathan' looked at the lock on it.

"Now, all we need is the key…" he mumbled at mid-thought.

I then looked at Mark's pocket, and found the key in there. 'Nathan' also realized this, for he began to cuss and look strait at where I was looking.

"Well, screw this!" he yapped. "We'll just have to deal with this! Crystal, levitate me over there, pronto!"

I did so, and making sure he only looked like a fly so that we didn't get caught. He then grabbed hold of the key, and slowly slid it out of his pocket.

"I can't get a hold of it!" he whispered back to me. "And we can't slide it out of his pocket, for he can feel that!"

"Maybe I should try and get myself over there," I called to him. "I just need something to glide on…"

I looked around, and I saw the slit of paper on the table close by. I thought for a moment, then made the paper levitate towards me, but made sure that it only looked like a draft was making the paper fly. When it did come to me, I hopped on it quick, and tried out my levitating powers on it. I then felt the paper under me move, and I knew it worked. I then flew right up against 'Nathan' and grabbed ahold of the key.

"It's not coming out," I whispered. "What now?"  
"Just use your powers," he suggested. "It's just the same as us pulling it out…"

I tried this, and it worked, making the small key (which looked gigantic to us) fly and come towards us mid-air. I let the key rest on the paper a bit, as I soared all of us back.

"Now, let's put the key in the hole…" I mumbled, putting the key in the hole.

With one twist, the box opened, letting out the other two. Of course, the other people within the room heard us, and began to attack. It lasted so long that even Zimmy, Jack and Jewel came in on this, noticing that we were missing.

"That's IT!" shouted Ruby. "I can't take it anymore! Foxadore, you betrayed me one, but I won't let you do it again! Now, let's see how you like it when I mess with one of _your_ friends!"  
_Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap!_ My mind was racing. _Who's she talking about? We're all victims now, and I have no idea what she's going to do!_ I shut my eyes, hoping that it wasn't me and whoever got it wouldn't be that bad.

"Oh, crud!" I heard 'Nathan' yell. "Crystal, help us!"  
I opened my eyes, and trying to see what had happened. I then realized that Jack had disappeared, but not entirely. He was now tiny like me and 'Nathan' was not long ago, and stuck in a small bottle on a chain. As Ruby picked it up, I saw the motion in her arms and I began to panic. _She's going to smash the bottle!_ My mind screeched. _Jack's going to die if I don't do something fast! Well, not die, but seriously be hurt!_ My panic lead to me using my powers and throwing the flaming fire at her face, making her drop the bottle, but not break it (thank goodness). Before anything else could happen, I picked up the tiny bottle and stuffed it in my pocket, hoping nobody saw me.

"You have messed with us for the last time!" Mark stated. "As for the others, let them be warned!"

And that's when everything turned dark, and when it became light again, they were all gone. I was just glad that I still had the bottle in my pocket, and I took it out, hoping Jack was okay.

"Is he fine?" 'Nathan' asked me, looking into the bottle as well.

"He's fine," I told him, watching jack tap the glass, realizing he's trapped.

"Just have Crystal wear the necklace," Zimmy told us. "We have to get to the other universe where Foxadore and prowler came from. Gallager will know what to do…"

"Who's Gallager?" I asked.

"My father," Foxadore answered. "And also the town's reaper."

I didn't asked what the heck a reaper was, but I assumed it had something to do with the Grim Reaper or something like that. I then put the necklace on right with the other Slendy gave me a long time ago, and followed the others out. I was disappointed that we couldn't hear Jack, for his voice must've been awesome to hear when he's that tiny. When we did get back, I set the bottle on the desk and wondered what to do now.

"When should we go?" I asked.

"As soon as possible," Prowler told me. "We'll go with you, Slendy, Foxadore and myself. We cannot take anyone else, for there would be too many at once traveling."

"So, should we leave now?" 'Nathan' asked.

"We need to get some rest," Foxadore replied. "So tomorrow morning, pronto."

I then looked at the bottle, and wondered if it would be good to put a small hole in it somewhere. I suggest this to 'Nathan' (who then turned back) and decided to put the hole right in the cork.

"Can't we pop open the cork?" I asked.

"No," he answered. "The cork is literally stuck in the bottle. I know because I've got trapped in a bottle once. Not fun at all…"

When we did put a small hole through the cork, Jack was so pissed that he was in there. It was quite funny, for his voice was all high pitched and squeaky, and almost sounded like Slendy's voice when he turned that small.

"Ruby sure has some strong powers," he said. "I don't think any of you could've done this…"

"I know I can't right now," I said back. "I don't think any of the other guys can, either…"

I finally decided to fall asleep in the tiny bed I made for myself. When I turned into my tiny self, the bottle became huge, and the space inside was large. I then crawled into the bed, and fell silently to sleep. I had no visions in my dreams that night, but I did imagine something. I guess it could've count for a vision, but it was just images, and not really a full scene, either. What I saw was a fox, but black as coal. He was wearing one of those Grim Reaper cloaks and had a huge weapon in his hand that looked like a mix between a sword and an axe. I guess this was Gallager, since he did look like a reaper. When I awoke, nobody else was up except Jack, staring out into space inside the bottle.

"Oh, your up," he squeaked. "Good, cuz I was starting to get bored."

"What're you doing up?" I asked.

"Can't sleep, even though I want to. Too many visions…"

"Visions? I thought I was the only one! I thought I vision Gallager in my dreams, since the fox looked like a reaper…"

Honestly, I was surprised that I didn't stumble or blush at all. The guy was famous, and mostly if I was with someone extremely famous I would've fainted right away, but I felt like I've known the guy since forever. He was just as nice as his cousin, and kind as well.

"Great minds think alike," he said. "And anyways, does my cousin have visions, too, or any of his other 'friends'?"  
"I don't know," I told him. "He never really told me."

It wasn't long before Slendy did get up, and I could tell right away he was super jealous of Jack.

"What are you guys doing up?" he asked. "It's 6:00 in the morning, it's too early!"  
"Well, I couldn't sleep," Jack told him. "And Crystal started to have visions of what she believes is Gallager…"

"Seems Jack also had visions of something…" I said.

"Yeah," he told us. "Of my cousin paralyzed…"

**Chapter Fifteen**

_Foxville_

"Say what?" Slendy gasped. "Me? Paralyzed? How can that be so?"  
"Hey," Jack snapped at him. "I vision it, that's all. It doesn't mean that it's going to come true!"

"The last one you had did," Slendy snapped back. "The one where Splendor went insane. Yeah, that happened, and one of us almost got killed!"

"Guys, stop it!" I yelled at the both of them. "Let's just fix this problem first, then get back to this stupid fight!"  
"She's right," Slendy yipped. "She knows what she's talking about…"

I just rolled me eyes, and I knew Jack would do the same if he did have eyes. As the two of us got larger, I put the necklace backed on and hoped that the two wont be fighting again. I had no idea what snapped between them, for they were so nice to each other just the other day.

"Ready to go?" Prowler asked once the both of them were up.

"Ready!" all three of us said.

"Then hang on tight!" he told us, as each of them held up a paw for us to hold.

As I held on to Foxadore with a gentile grip, I saw a white light surround us, and then fade away slowly as we teleported to the other universe.

"Welcome to our home!" Prowler announced.

"A forest?" I asked. "Where's the village?"  
"It's right outside of this forest," Foxadore told us, as the two started to lead the way.

They then stood up like normal humans would, and became more human than animal. I then realized why they would build a village and make a community, for they were now no different then mankind.

"How come you guys couldn't do this before?" I asked.

"The girl with the many questions," Foxadore sighed. "We couldn't do this before because we can only do this in our universe. The why part is hard to explain…"

We began to walk out of the forest and into an open valley. The valley was full of sweet, little red and yellow flowers, along with some tall grass and some buzzing bees.

"This place looks amazing," I awed. "I never seen a valley like _this _before…"

As we started to walk over, I began to look around.

"Oh, we're almost right next to the magic pool…" Foxadore thought aloud.

"The what?" I asked, and he answered with one point of his paw to the right.

I looked over to see a small pool of water, but the water sparkled and shimmered. There were a whole bunch of unicorns located in the pool, drinking from it and having a grand old time.

"Should we go to the reptile pond?" Foxadore asked.

"Heck no!" Prowler answered. "Edger would be fighting us, like always…"

"Are there any more whimsical stuff?" I dared to ask.

"Not really, except for our town," Prowler answered. "Where I'm prince…"

"You're a _prince_?" I exclaimed.

"Yep," I grinned back. "Surprised?"  
"Uh, yeah!" I said. "You should've told me this a while ago!"  
He kept smiling, and eventually turned back to watch where he was going. I just shook my head and rolled my eyes, tired of surprises. Well, I shouldn't say _tired_, but more annoyed with the situation of them not telling me this. As we walked through the meadow, I noticed a large, mansion-like house to the right.

"What's that over there?" I asked the two.

"Oh, the house?" Foxadore asked back. "Oh, that's where Mark and Ruby live. We should go and prank their house later…"

"Why would you prank their house?" I asked, realizing how stupid, but awesome that sounded.

"Because we have nothing better to do," he answered back.

"But, don't they have powers and all that?"

"Geez, where does this kid get all these questions?" Prowler moaned. "You'll understand soon, let's just get to Foxadore's house _first_!"

That's when the awkward silence fell, and I decided to think about other things, like what we're doing for Christmas and all that. We were walking through the meadow for about half an hour, and I got bored with my daydreaming. I then began to see a clearing where the meadow stopped, and I began to see some houses, too.

"Is that town?" I asked to break the silence (finally!).

"Yeah, that's it!" Prowler told us. "We can go through, I'm sure my cell-trappers won't mind."

"Cell-trappers?" All three of us asked.

"Oh, did we forget to tell you about them?" Foxadore wondered out loud. "You'll see when we come up and round the corner…"

He was right, for we could see them once we came out of the meadow. They looked like giant rats, but the sides of them were clear, but they had no guts or bones. One of them had a small raccoon inside of it, and I guess that's why they're called 'cell-trappers'.

"Lucky!" Foxadore said once he saw the raccoon in the cell-trapper. "What'd you get caught doing this time?"

"I'll admit it," the raccoon called to him. "I was stealing again. Not my fault that that's part of our nature…"

After the fox rolled his eyes, he helped the raccoon out of the animal. The raccoon, now known as Lucky, thanked Foxadore and ran off towards the meadow.

"Is that one of your pals?" I asked him.

"Yep. We've been pals for a while," he answered.

We continued towards town, and I saw where we were headed. The house was about the size of my old one (the one that burned down) and looked like it, too, only it was a indigo color instead of white.

"Ah, home sweet home," I heard Foxadore say. "Well, let's hope someone's home. I'm sure one of my sisters are…"

"Sisters?" I asked.

"Yeah," he answered. "Twins. Ekio and Stella might be home…"

He knocked on the door only once, and a small, black fox answered it.

"Oh, Foxadore!" she exclaimed. "You're home! And you brought friends! I'll let Stella know you're home!"

I guessed she was Ekio, and she ran away from the door to get her sister.

"She could've opened it first…" Prowler muttered.

"She doesn't think twice…" Foxadore answered him.

When Ekio came back, she had her sister, Stella, with her. Stella looked a lot like Foxadore, but was smaller and her fur was a much lighter color.

"Hold on, let's bring you in…" Stella said as she began to open the door.

"Oh, Slendy," Prowler whispered back. "Ya might wanna, well, ya know…"

"Oh, right," he said back, and changed into his disguise.

When the door finally opened, we entered the small house. It was kind of cute inside, with their beds lined up against the wall, and the pets sleeping in it. The only pets that I could see were a domesticated alligator and some robotic things.

"Oh, you're wondering what the robots are, I suppose," Prowler whispered to me, and I nodded. "Yeah, Gallager is also a scientist, too. He makes robots as a hobby…"

"Oh," I said back. "That explains them, but what about the alligator?"  
"That's Splinter," he told me. "Found in the forest one day. Rare type of gator, and one of the most dog-like, too."

The girls headed back to their beds and were on their laptops (and I thought they didn't have any!) playing games or something. Foxadore then asked them if Gallager was even home.

"He's out reaping," Ekio said. "He should be home soon, but it shouldn't be that long…"

"Well, better figure out what to do in the meantime…" Prowler thought aloud. "Maybe we could prank the house now…"

"Again, why would you do that?" I asked them.

"Because it's hilarious," Foxadore said. "I mean, sure Mark's a hunter and all, and Ruby mortally hates me, but it's still fun!"

"Why does Ruby hate you so much?" I asked them.

"I suppose I could tell," he replied. "It's a long story, but I can try and make I short. You see, when I was little, I strayed away from home once. She took me in after I got hurt, and cared for me. When she had one of her friends over, I over herd them talking about killing one of my friends at the time, so I attacked them. That's what made her turn on me and become evil under Mark's influence. Mark is Ruby's uncle, and he's been an enemy of ours sine he came to that house."

"Wow," I gasped. "So, you did nothing wrong, but Ruby hates you…"

"Exactly," he said. "Maybe I shouldn't have attacked them, but if I didn't, they would've killed one of my pals…"

"Which pal was it again?" Prowler asked him. "It wasn't Lucky, was it?"

"No," he said. "It was Lilly."

"Oh, right," Prowler thought aloud. "You're girlfriend…"

"Girlfriend?" I asked, realizing I was asking a lot of questions.

"Yeah," the fox smiled. "She's a fire element, and she lives next door…"

I gave him a sly smile back, and laughed a bit. I then heard a sound from the floor above us, and I knew someone was up there.

"Oh, that must be mother," Ekio muttered. "She's cleaning again…"

"Oh, great," Stella said with great sarcasm. "What's she gonna break _this_ time?"

I then saw out of the corner of my eye somebody coming down the steps. I turned my head to se another fox, who looked like an older version of Stella, but with dust covering her fur.

"Oh, hey Mom," Foxadore said. "Spring cleaning again?"  
"Spring cleaning?" I thought aloud. "But it's December…"

"Not here it ain't," Prowler told me. "It's March right now…"

"Really?" I said. "Do universes have different times?"  
"Yep," he answered.

I then watched as the mother came down the steps to greet us. She said her name was Sahara, like the desert. She was very sweet and kind, and she wasn't just any fox, but a witch, too.

"What exactly do you mean by 'witch'?" I asked.

"The girl with the questions again…" Prowler muttered.

"I can't help it!" I yelled. "I'm curious!"

"There's nothing wrong with curiosity," Sahara said. "You have every right to be, especially in a place you have never been or even heard about! I'm considered a witch because I'm married and have kids who have powers or special abilities. I know, as weird as it seems, it's true…"

"Your world is so much different than ours," I told them. "I mean, the sceneries, the magical things, the elements… it's almost unbelievable!"

"That was Jack's first reaction, too," Foxadore laughed. "Since he came here with us once…"

"Hey, how's he doing?" Sahara asked.

"You can ask him now," Foxadore told him, and I took of the chain to show her.

"Oh, well no wonder you're here!" she exclaimed. "My husband will get him out of there, and back to normal size, too…"

It wasn't long after she said that, for a shadow began to appear in the room.

"Oh, Father's back!" Ekio smiled.

"Now, we can finally get him out of that bottle!" 'Nathan' exclaimed beside of me.

I almost jumped when he said that, for he had been silent the whole time. I guess he was concentrated on getting his cousin out of the bottle. The shadow then became clearer and clearer until it was not even a shadow anymore, but the fox I had visions of the night before. When he was fully there, he smiled, glad to see his son home. After Foxadore explained everything to him, showing the bottle and everything, Gallager knew what to do.

"You have to get the spell book from Mark," he told us in a deep voice. "The spell is in there…"

"Are you serious!" Foxadore exclaimed. "We were just there!"

"Not to mention the rate of us being killed!" Prowler joined in. "But we'll see what we can do. Crystal and 'Nathan' have powers, too, and can shrink to an unbelievable size."

"And that's exactly the kind of people we need for this," Foxadore said, looking strait at us.

"Are you guys going to go in with us?" I asked them.

"We can't," Prowler answered. "We will be caught and be shot!"

Those words weren't pretty to hear, and 'Nathan' decided to go right away. We headed out of the house, and started to walk out of the village.

"Do you have any idea where this book is?" I asked him.

"Yep," he told me. "I had to do this once before, since the same thing happened to Prowler once. You should've seen how pissed he was!"

"So, you've been here before?" I asked.

"Yep," he replied. "But only inside the house that we're going to. They call it the mansion, even though it really isn't."

"Just like we call your house the mansion, only it is!"

"Exactly, and we should probably shrink now, for we could be caught…"

It only took a few seconds to do this, and once we did, we were literally running to get to the house. After we climber through the window, 'Nathan' covered up my mouth before I could even speak again. He then pointed towards the dogs sleeping on the floor, and I was glad he silenced me before one of us got eaten. We then walked around the sleeping 'beast' and climbed up the stairs. We noticed Ruby by the dinner table with two other men, talking about some things. When I looked closely at whom she was talking to, I almost crapped myself.

"'Nathan'," I whispered. "You'll never believe this!"

"What?" He whispered back, and I pointed to Ruby and the two men. "Oh, great, now if we get caught, you're going to be killed!"

"And what if Jack's vision is true?" I asked him. "Paralyzed for life! That doesn't sound like a good thing…"

"If Mark and Ruby are really becoming Proxy hunters, then we're all screwed!" he exclaimed, but still kept it at a whisper.

"C'mon," I told him. "Better get that book!"

I followed him up the stairs and into a bedchamber. We found mark sleeping in the bed, and made sure to be extremely careful.

"Over here," 'Nathan' whispered to me. "Here's where the book is!"

I ran to the little space under the floor, which seemed to be like a tiny attic. We found pages and pages of spells and potions, but it was easy to find the book, since it was the only book there! I used my powers to lift it up, since both 'Nathan' and I wouldn't be able to do this. I then shoved the book through the hole, and we began to scramble out of the place. We were so close to getting away with this, when we heard one of the Proxy hunters talk.

"Uh, Ruby, is it normal that there's a floating book coming down the staircase?"

"What now?" she asked him.

"There's a book floating down the staircase," he told her, pointing right at us.

"Oh, crap," was all I said before we started to get the heck out of there.

**Chapter Sixteen**

_Back to the Past_

As 'Nathan' and I were both cussing as we began to run down the steps, the Proxy hunter began to stand up and walk over to us.

"We're dead," I screamed. "Dead, dead, dead, dead…"

The hunter who saw us was Gus, and the other at the table was Bruce. The two were like the head masters of all the Proxy hunters. As the two of them slowly started to walk over, I decided to throw the book against the wall.

"What the heck are you doing?" 'Nathan' asked me.

"RUN!" I shouted at him as I grabbed his hand and bolted towards the door.

"Did ya hear that," Bruce asked Gus.

"What?" Gus asked back.

"I thought I heard something," Bruce said.

Good thing we were right against the book, for the two of us were pushing the book out the door.

"This is taking forever!" 'Nathan' complained.

"Just do it!" I shouted back at him.

"Fine," he moaned, and I decided to use a little magic to help us.

When we finally got the book out of there, I used my magic to help us get the heck out of there.

"Thank goodness," I told him once we were far away from there. "I can't believe they got the Proxy hunters here!"

"Me neither," 'Nathan' said back. "Let's turn back before we get squashed…"

Right after we did so, I took the book under my arm and started to bolt for Foxadore's house. It only took a few minutes to get there, but when we did, they were glad to see that we were fine.

"Now, let's get you out of that bottle," Prowler said to Jack, who was banging on the glass, trying to break it.

Gallager began to turn the pages in the book until he found the right spell. He them muttered something, and the bottle smashed into pieces.

"Now, for the sizing potion…" Gallager thought aloud.

He was flipping through the pages, was trying to remember what page it was on, or so I assumed.

"Ah, here we go," he finally said, butting his paw on the page.

After mumbling a few words, Jack was back to normal, and was so glad that he was.

"Now, let's get out of here," 'Nathan' said. "We can always come back, right?"

"Of course," Foxadore told us. "Let's get to the machine. Hopefully it's working…"

As we headed out of the house, we said our goodbyes to Foxadore's family. I began to smile as we left, remembering the family I once had and the friends who now replace it. I then felt a bit of sadness hit me, but I tried to shake it away, wanting no tears in front of my friends.

"Gee," I told Foxadore. "Your family's nice."

"Yeah," he told me. "Since my family is one of a kind here. Not everyone here has a complete family like I do. Usually a parent is missing…"

"That's a shame," I thought aloud. "Is it because of the hunters?"

He nodded, seeing a bit of sadness in his eyes as well. He must've lost a couple of good friends due to them, and I knew if I lost a friend the same way, I would never forgive whoever killed them.

"Hey, we're here," Prowler told us, breaking the sadness. "We'll send you guys back, and we'll join you guys later…"

As we headed into the small building, I saw the small platform in there, just like the one in Halloweentown.

"Are ya ready?" 'Nathan' asked me.

"Yeah," I told him. "I enjoyed it here…"

"Okay, guys," Foxadore told us. "Step up on the platform…"

We did so, all getting a little tight on the space provided.

"Three, two, ONE!" Prowler counted down, and flicked the switch.

The white light came back, and when it cleared, we were found in a small forest.

"Did we end up in the wrong place?" 'Nathan' thought aloud. "Oh, great. Another problem to deal with!"

"It looks just like home," I said. "Did we teleport home?"

"No, this isn't just home," 'Nathan' told me. "Look…"

He pointed over to the right, and my eyes followed the same direction. He pointed to a cave, which was our hideout. But, it wasn't our hideout. A mother bear and three little cubs accompanied it, and I watched as they ran inside the cave.

"This is the past," I shuttered. "But how far ago?"

I tried to touch a tree, but my hand went strait through it.

"We're only ghost here," 'Nathan' told me. "Since it's the past, we can't change it…"

"This sucks!" I moaned. "How are we going to get out?"  
"Let's start looking," Jack thought aloud. "I mean, can't hurt to try, right?"

"I guess so," I muttered. "Maybe we should see if the mansion is still up…"

We started to head over the where the mansion was, and found nothing. Absolutely nothing but grass on the plain hill.

"How far did we go back?" I asked them. "This is clearly so far back that I don't even recognize the place…"

We began to search, and I found my old school, only it was nothing but a couple of bars, since it was being built.

"Oh, look," 'Nathan' said. "A well. This should take us back to where I went to school. Interested?"

"Heck yeah!" I replied. "I always wondered what your school was like…"

We began to jump in the well (like a boss), but 'Nathan' stopped when he saw something in the distance.

"What?" I asked him. "What is it?"

He took his foot out from over the well and slowly walked towards two figures. Jack and I just looked at each other, and quickly caught up with him. We came upon two kids, but they weren't just any kids. They were Splendor and Slendy!

"Holy crap!" I exclaimed. "It's you! You looked so cute as a kid!"

The two were talking amongst themselves, and I listened in to the conversation.

"Are you sure?" the young Slendy asked his brother. "Do I really belong there?"  
"Of course ya do!" Splendor told him. "You're my missing brother! C'mon, follow me, you belong in _our_ universe!"

"'Nathan'," I asked him. "What does he mean by 'missing brother'?"  
"It's a long story," he replied, his voice barely there. "But basically I was lost for a long time, being lost in the forest and alone…"

"That sounds depressing," I thought aloud. "But how'd you get missing?"

"I came here as a kid with my other brothers," he told me. "And I got departed from them…"

"And you didn't remember any of them?"

"No," he said. "I was a three year old at the time."

"Oh," I said back, realizing that going back into his past was hard for him.

We began to follow the two as they went into the well, and we couldn't stop ourselves. It was like we were forced to be dragged with them, and I felt like we were in Charles Dickens' Christmas book. We began to follow them down the well, and we popped up to a suburban city full of monstrous thing and scary beings.

"This is our universe," Splendor told his younger brother. "I'll show you around town…"

Dragged along with them, we had to watch Splendor give a full tour around the place. We then got a break when it became night, and it felt like time fast-forward a bit and into Slendy's teenage years.

"Did we just get shot into the future a bit?" I asked 'Nathan'.

"I think so," he answered. "I don't know why, but it makes things easier for us…"

"How?" I asked him.

"Well, first, we don't have to be given a whole tour of town again!" he joked. "Second, we won't be traveling as much."

We then followed young Slendy to school, and we were literally dragged into the place. We watch the normal school day go, but 'Nathan' didn't look at it like it was a normal day. No, for it looked like he remembered this day all too well, and hated to go back and re-watch it.

"Now, class, take your seats," we heard the teacher say.

The teacher was nothing but a robot, programed to teach the kids (or so I guessed).

"Now, class, do you have your ideas for the presentation on Monday?" the robotic teacher asked the class.

The whole class nodded, and began to share their idea, one by one, until little Slendy was that last to go. Most of the ideas were about murders and killing styles, but Slendy's was totally, totally different. He wanted to research the meanings of human emotion, most specifically, the human emotion of love. When he presented this, the whole class began to laugh rudely at him, and I knew why 'Nathan' had the look on his face of madness and sorrow. The poor kid was heartbroken, and began to get angry. Really angry. He got so angry that he snapped and went wild, destroying everything in the classroom. He could've killed someone if he wanted to, but he didn't. The pain 'Nathan' had of seeing this broke out all over his face, until he was literally looking away. Of course, we were forced to follow the kid, but neither of us looked.

"What the heck?" I finally asked him. "Those kids were bullies, but why wont you accept it?"

He then gave me a stern look, and finally said, "Because, some of my best friends were there, and began to join in. Even the teacher did so. I hate to see myself destroying the place, but to be honest, they deserved it…"

He was absolutely right. It was technically their fault that he was like this, even though he kind of went a little far. It was hurtful to see him like this, and I had to speak up or do something, but I couldn't. I turned to watch little Slendy finally be banished from the place for eternity, and forever be a Creepy pasta.

"This is terrible," I finally said. "I can't watch any more. I know we have to keep following him, but I just want to leave…"

"Same here," Jack joined in. "I didn't even know this was the reason you got kicked out…"

Of course, 'Nathan' said nothing. It was brutal to all of us. _Why did we have to be here?_ My head asked. _Can't we just leave already? Why 'Nathan's' past and not one of ours?_ That's when I started to jump when little Slendy went into his disguise and walked up to _my_ school. He did seem familiar, as if I had seen this young 'Nathan' before. I hen even saw myself when I was only about 6 years old. I watched as little 'Nathan' came right up to me, and I put two and two together.

"Dude, look at this!" I smiled as I tugged his sleeve. "Look, 'Nathan', it's us when we were kids!"

"What?" he asked me, and turned around to see the same thing.

Had I've known that the 'Nathan' now was my old kindergarten friend from way back when; I would've been delighted to see him.

"Hey Crystal!" I heard young 'Nathan' say. "What's up?"

I smiled at my old self. I remembered this day as if it were only yesterday. This was the day when we really became friends, or so I remembered from this part. It was all kind of fuzzy from being so long ago, but it was still there.

"Hey Nate!" my younger self called to him. "Wanna play hot lava again?"

"Yeah!" 'Nathan' from the past smiled.

Hot lava was a simple game, and it was easy to play on the playground we had. Pretty much, we got a whole group of people to start this. One person would be the tagger, or lava monster as we called him or her. We were only aloud to touch the ground for 10 seconds, unless you were a tagger. All taggers kept their eyes closed and had to find someone. If a tagger calls "Hot lava!" Then anyone touching the ground would be a tagger. Last one standing would win. Well, my younger self and the younger 'Nathan' would always be allies or teammates, helping each other and screaming like crazy. When we had to go into class, we would always sit next to each other, and have a grand old time.

"The only thing I don't get," I said once the younger 'uses' took their seats. "Is why did you attend _my_ school when you could've been just chilling in the forest?"

"Gave me something to do," 'Nathan' of this time told me. "And I wanted to observe human, since I still wanted to research them. Funny thing is, you helped me out so much with this…"

The two of us started to laugh, thinking this is hilarious that we are now GF and BF, though there was about a 6-year gap between when I last saw him and when I found him again as Slendy. I then gasped, realizing what was going to happen next.

"Uh, 'Nathan'," I said.

"Yeah?" he answered.

"Isn't this the day when I last saw you?" I asked slowly, stunned.

His eyes got wide as he replied, "Holy crap, you're right!"

That's when we saw the kids beginning to bully little 'Nathan', and my younger self trying to stop them.

"Stop it!" the younger me cried. "I'm getting help…"

I watched as the little me ran for the teacher, and when she came back, it was horrible. 'Nathan' had turned back into Slendy, and all heck broke loose. I was obviously shocked, but I didn't care what he looked like, for I knew in my heart it was still wrong. The teacher started to freak out, along with everyone else, and started to scream and run away. But I didn't. I reached out a friendly hand and pulled him up. I smiled, and he smiled back.

"Nate?" my younger self asked. "How'd come you never told me this?"

"I couldn't," he told me. "I just couldn't…"

He then pulled away from the younger me, and started to run away. We were dragged along as I started to follow, until the demon came and erased my memory of that day. He then left, and the younger me blacked out.

"I totally forgot about this day," 'Nathan' said. "I still can't believe you stayed back for me…"

"Of course," I told him, my memory coming back. "I couldn't leave you by yourself. You were still my friend, no matter how ya looked."

We smiled at each other, and that's when the place went white. We came back to me at the prom, and the night Danny left me there.

"Oh, I remember you telling me this," 'Nathan' told me. "This is when that stupid guy never showed up…"

We watched myself at the age of 15, waiting for him to come. I sat on the school steps, in a white gown with little blue flowers in it, and I began to cry.

"Hey, hey," came a soft voice, and I saw Gemm coming down to the steps with me. "Don't cry. He can be late, that's all."

"No," the younger me snapped. "It's not like that. I saw him with another girl…"

"OH SNAP!" Gemm screamed. "Well, I'm gonna give him a piece of my mind!"

She then frantically ran back in, and minutes late, she came out with Danny, all beat up in a headlock, and was pleading, "What'd I do? WHAT'D I DO?"  
"Oh, please," Gemm shouted at him. "You know exactly what you did! You made my friend cry over you, and you left her without any notice…"

"Crystal?" Danny said, looking at the young me crying. "Oh goodness, what have I done?"

"You evil little brat!" was basically what Gemm said, but with a lot of cussing and a lot of hurtful words. "You should just leave for good!"

After Gemm let go of the headlock, Danny literally ran away from the prom, and Gemm came to my side again.

"You didn't have to do all that," the younger me said.

"But he deserved it," my friend told me. 'And you know what? That guy's a jerk…"

Well, she didn't say jerk, but it meant the same thing. She then got me up and started to walk me home, and I watched as we began to talk and laugh.

"I didn't know Gemm beat him up," 'Nathan' said. "I thought you were just mad at him."

"Nope," I laughed. "Gemm's a lot more abusive than you think…"

"Remind me not to leave you at any prom night," he joked.

"I don't think you would," I told him. "But you got it!"

We then saw the platform appear in the middle of the street, and Foxadore and Prowler were right besides it.

"C'mon guys," Foxadore called to us. "We've got to set going!"

All three of us ran down to them and onto the platform. When we were all on, we teleported back to Halloweentown, safe and sound.

**Chapter Seventeen**

_Saving Christmas_

"We're sorry about that," Prowler apologized. "The machine has a few bugs in it. And we couldn't even get you until somebody else's past was coming up, and the ruthlessness was just going to get worse."

"My past isn't the best," Jack whispered to us. "It's really creepy…"

"Mine's just sad and depressing," I whispered to him. "And Slendy's was, well, interesting…"

Jack couldn't hold back the laughter on my joke, no matter how hard he tried.

"What are you guys laughing about?" 'Nathan' asked us.

"Oh, nothing," I said, making ourselves stop laughing.

We then wanted to get back to the mansion, when we were stopped by an important message brought by one of Oogie's boys.

"What's this?" Jack asked them.

"It's a letter," Lock said.

"From Christmas town," Shock followed.

"It's important," Barrel joined.

Jack grabbed the letter and opened it immediately.

"Oh, what's it now?" I asked him.

"Not good news, I can tell ya that," he said. "Looks like they're having a problem up there, and we need to instantly get there."

"Then we're coming," 'Nathan' told his cousin. "I'm not going to let you walk into a mess by yourself…"

"I guess I'm coming too, aren't I?" I asked.

"Well, of course," Jack told me. "A little extra help would be nice…"

I smiled, glad that I'm going with them. _Wonder what Christmas town is like,_ my mind wondered. _I know a bit about it from the movie, but I couldn't fully see what it was like…_

"Better go now," 'Nathan' said. "The sooner, the better…"

Jewel and Zimmy soon came up to us, asking questions and all that.

"Leaving already?" Jewel asked us. "But you just got here…"

"And we just got this news, too," I told them. "This is important. We got to go to Christmas town and help out up there…"

"Can we go?" the two of them asked.

"Sorry," 'Nathan' answered them. "Too many to keep watch. At least Crystal doesn't get into trouble…"

I smirked at Jewel and Zimmy, knowing the two of them would cause is trouble up there.

"This is awesome!" I told them. "Go to both my favorite holidays in one day! I wonder if we'll meet Santa or not…"

"I don't think so," Jack answered. "The problem is that the guy s sick…"

"Oh," I said. "I don't want to get sick…"

"I don't think anyone does," 'Nathan' told me. "That would just suck…"

"So, anyways," Jack continued. "We need to get Christmas going again. I need you two to help because the last time I tried this, well, it didn't go the way I planned…"

"Yeah," 'Nathan' butted in. "That was a huge failure…"

"I know Christmas like the back of my hand!" I said. "I know how this whole thing goes!"

"Great," Jack said back. "You'll be great help!"  
I smiled wide. _Great help? This is awesome! I get to help with Christmas! Now, how many people get the opportunity to do that?_

"C'mon, now," 'Nathan' told me, dragging me along. "We have to get out of here and go through the Christmas door. At least we know which door that is…"

"Yeah!" I said. "The really sparkly one with the tree shape…"

We stepped on the platform and teleported way back to where the pathway started.

"We have to follow the pathway again," I sighed. "That's going to take a while. Better run the ways, I guess…"

And so we did. We ran through and got to the trees in no time at all. I started at each one once we got there, and I found the door with the Christmas tree shape to it.

"This is it," I told them, grabbing the knob. "This is where we're going in. Ready?"

"Ready as ever," 'Nathan' told me.

"Same here," 'Jack joined in.

"Count of three," I told them.

"One," 'Nathan' started.

"Two," Jack joined in.

"THREE!" I yelled and opened the door and fell strait in.

The same thing happened this time as it did the other time we fell in with the Halloween door. The only difference was that there were tiny snowflakes that surrounded us, making it seem Christmassy and amazing. When I landed, I fell right in the snow, along with the other two. I then popped up with a pile of snow on my head and the whiteness covering my whole face and outfit.

"We're here!" I heard 'Nathan' say, and I began to giggle with all the snow on us.

"We look like snowmen," I joked. "Really skinny ones, to be exact…"

We wiped off the snow and headed down towards town. Everything looked just the same as it did with the movie, and in no time at all, we found Mrs.C waiting for us.

"Oh, there you are," she called to us and rushed over. "Looks like you brought some friends, too…"

After 'Nathan' and I introduced ourselves, she then explains the whole situation.

"Santa has been hit with the flew," she told us. "Everything is ready to go, but we need someone to deliver the toys. That's why I got you right away. You flew the sleigh well last time, so I'm sure with a real sleigh you can be even greater…"

"The real sleigh?" I thought aloud, surprised I even said it.

"Why of course, dear," she told me. "What else are you going to deliver the toys in? Everything else you can leave to the elves…"

She then literally left the three of us in charge (Well, Jack's really in charge and we're helping) and the three of us just looked at each other.

"What now?" I asked. "Prepare for flight?"

"First off," 'Nathan' told us. "To prevent us from being hit again, Jack's got to look less like himself."

"And how do you suppose we do that?" Jack asked his cousin.

"With this," 'Nathan' said, holding up another crystal necklace. "Just like the ones Crystal and I wear. Now put it on and think of a human. Trust me, it works…"

Jack hesitated for a bit, but then hanged the crystal down over his neck, and in no time at all, he became a human in his pinstriped suit.

"OMG!" I shriek. "Jack, you look so, _different_."

Jack opened his eyes, for he had them closed when he was changing. He was even surprised himself, and stared at his hands. His voice changed just the slightest bit to be sweeter, but his voice was still recognizable.

"Wow," he gasped looking at his hands. "It does work! Man, this is awesome!"

Jack now had white hair, but not spiky like 'Nathan's'. He still had the same structure to him, but wasn't bony anymore. His eyes were a crystal blue, like his cousin's, and he looked like the human version of Jack Frost.

"You remind me of Jack Frost," I finally said. "Less threatening than a skeleton sneaking into a little kid's house."

"Ya think so?" Jack asked me.

"Uh, heck yeah!" I told him. "You should look at yourself, like, in a mirror or something…"

He then gazed at the ice on the ground, and he realized that I was completely right.

"We all look similar," I told the two. "With the eyes and the skin tones. I mean, of course you two are cousins, but it's like I'm part of the family, too!"

"She's right," 'Nathan' said. "I thought it was just her and I who have the same eye color, but even 'Kyle' and 'Conner' do, too!"

"Who's 'Conner'?" I asked him.

"Oh, that's my other brother's disguise. You know, Trendy?"

"Oh yeah," I laughed. "The creep of the family…"

Jack got a kick out of that joke, as he chuckled when I said it.

"I don't know where she comes up with these jokes," Jack laughed. "But she's just like you when we were kids. Remember that?"  
"Oh, yeah," 'Nathan' laughed along. "I remember how funny we all were back then. It was awesome…"

"Does Jack need a disguise name?" I asked them.

"Nah," 'Nathan' told me. "It's just like you said. He looks like Jack Frost, so we'll make people believe he's Jack Frost!"

The three of us kept laughing like crazy until we decided to go check up on things. I was keeping it together, until I saw the reindeer.

"OMG," I said. "Can we ride them?"

"What?" 'Nathan' asked me.

"Can we ride them?" I repeated. "The reindeer. Can I ride one?"  
'Nathan' just looked at Jack, and he shrugged.

"As long as you don't get hurt, I don't see why not…" he told me.

"Thanks!" I said, and I ran off to them.

Of course, 'Nathan' came with me, and claimed he was just making sure I didn't get bucked by one, but I knew he wanted to join the fun.

"Is Rudolph here?" I wondered. "I wanted to ride him…"

"Same here," 'Nathan' gave in. "Who doesn't?"  
I laughed, looking at each of the reindeer there. I then found Rudolph's pen, and my face lit up when I found the reindeer.

"Do they talk?" I asked.

"Nope, but they're still fun!" 'Nathan' replied, and brought Rudolph out.

My face lit up and I was s excited to try this. The reindeer already had everything on and was ready for anyone to ride him. His nose lit up right away when he saw me, and I made sure the creature as okay with me riding him. I could tell he liked me right away, and 'Nathan' found a couple of carrots to give him.

"Climb on," he told me. "He can't really hurt you. I'll find another to ride…"

I then hopped on the reindeer, not even believing that this was happening.

"This is awesome!" I told him. "I can't believe I'm even on a reindeer, let alone that it's one of Santa's and that it's Rudolph!"

"Wait here," 'Nathan' told me once the reindeer ate all the carrots. "Just let me find one that I like…"

"You should ride Vixen," I told him. "That's one of the reindeers I liked when we were passing by!"

"Okay," he told me. "Just don't start flying without me, if you can try not to…"

"I don't think I can," I giggled. "Sorry, but I just can't wait to fly!"

"What do you think you're doing!" a little elf came in and started to yell at us.

"Just test riding," I said. "Nothing to bad…"

"Well, if you're only riding them…" the little elf thought aloud. "Just don't let them run loose!"

"We wont!" I called after the elf, who then stormed out of the place.

When I was finally alone again, I started to pet the reindeer, waiting fr 'Nathan' to get over here.

"What's taking him so long?" I said to myself. "It can't take him _that_ long to find a reindeer to ride. I don't want to wait too long before we take off and fly…"

At the exact word of _fly_, Rudolph started to walk towards the door.

"Oh wait, hold on!" I scrambled as I tried to pull back the reindeer. "Not yet!"

But it was too late, for he was already out the door and starting to prance the heck out of the stalls!

"Oh, 'Nathan'!" I called to him. "HELP ME!"  
I then realized everything was getting smaller, and I looked down to see the whole village below.

"I'm flying? Hey, I'm flying!" I laughed, looking around the place.

It wasn't long before 'Nathan' came rearing up next to me on Vixen.

"You left without me!" he said. "What couldn't wait?"  
"I couldn't stop him," I laughed. "So I just went with it!"

I began to join the little ride in the air, not believing the views and everything. It was so nice, and when we finally got the reindeers to land, the two of us were laughing and having a good time.

"Better put them back," I told him. "Before they take off again…"

He jumped off of his first, and then with the reins of his reindeer in his fist, he helped me off of mine. I then took the reins that connected to Rudolph's harness into my hands, and the two of us started to walk back. The reindeer liked the little ride as much as we did, for Rudolph's nose was glowing brightly and both of their stubby tails were wagging back and forth excitedly. When we did get back into the stalls and put the reindeers back, we began to laugh again.

"Normally, we wouldn't be able to do this," 'Nathan' told me. "But since Jack's in charge now, he doesn't care at all…"

"Well," I told him. "I wouldn't say 'doesn't care', but more like he doesn't mind. I'm sure he cares a bit if one of them got lost."

"True," he said back. "So true. We should probably see if we could give a hand or not. I'll go check, you just stay here and watch over the stalls…"

"Okay," I said. "But-"

Before I could finish what I was going to say, he already was walking out, and the door lightly closed.

"But who's gonna watch with me?" I finally finished, even if I was alone. "Ah, well, I guess I can be alone for a little bit. It's not too bad, right?"

I just leaned against one of the stalls, waiting for his return. As I was waiting, I started to think about the night when we had to deliver these gifts. _Am I going?_ I thought. _Or am I staying? I think I'm going, but I'm not sure. I'm sure that I'm going, cuz why wouldn't I?_

"Okay, where the heck is he?" I thought out loud. "Oh, better see what's up. It shouldn't take this long to find him…"

I then checked each stall and made sure it was closed and locked. When each stall passed my inspection, I locked the door to the place and headed out to find either 'Nathan' or Jack. It was 'Nathan' who I found first.

"I told you to wait," he said.

"You've been out here for a while," I told him. "I was just making sure everything's fine. Anyways, did ya find jack?"  
"Not yet," he answered. "I guess you can help me look. Did you lock up and-"

"Well, yeah!" I interrupted. "I made sure that they wouldn't escape!"  
"If you say so," he thought aloud. "Now, let's find Jack. I thought he would be right around here…"

Thank goodness that I had very good eyesight. It was a very common trait in the family to have a keen sense of sight, and I could find anyone easy in a busy crowd. But even my eyesight couldn't find Jack.

"Where the heck is he?" I wondered. "He should be around here somewhere. You don't think the necklace has anything to do with this, do you?"

"No," he told me. "That necklace can only make him human and back again, and that's why I didn't give it out to anyone else…"

"Makes sense," I thought. "But if that's the case, then where'd he head off to?"

I then began to think, and finally my thinking burned my thoughts. I then began to try roaming around to search more, and eventually I found him just roaming around the place.

"Oh, there ya are, Jack!" I called to him.

He looked at me, and smiled, his blue eyes shinning.

"Oh, were you looking for me?" he laughed. "How was the ride? I saw you guys up there…"

"It was fun!" I smiled. "We're just seeing if you need help at all."

"Well, to be honest, I don't know what to do!" he told us. "It's almost overwhelming!"

"Maybe we should just chill," 'Nathan' chimed in. "Couldn't hurt, right?"  
"Just don't keep your guard down," I told them. "Trouble could happen at any time…"

We then just began to sit on the sidewalk together, side-by-side, and I was the lucky one in the middle. We began to chat with each other, and were laughing like crazy.

"Hey," I said. "Am I going with you in the sleigh?"  
"I guess we can all go," Jack answered. "I don't see why we can't. Someone's got to watch the sleigh."

"Then who's going to watch the sleigh, and what will the other person be doing?" 'Nathan' asked his cousin.

"I think you should watch the sleigh," Jack replied. "I'll take Crystal with me in the houses. She's the only one that knows Christmas best, us two are just stuck on Halloween, and I'm in charge…"

"If you say so," 'Nathan' said with a bit of jealously in his voice.

_Wait, what?_ My mind turned on. _I'm going down with jack into each house! WHAT! I can't believe this! No wonder why 'Nathan' is so pissed…_ I knew that 'Nathan' is probably jealous because one, Jack is kind of taking me away from him, and two, Jack's also taking time away from the two of us. That explains why 'Nathan' joined me in the reindeer riding…

"C'mon, guys," 'Nathan' finally said. "Let's go check up on the elves. I want to see the workshop, and I'm sure Crystal does, too…"  
I began to giggle, realizing I must be a perfect guy magnet. The thought was too much to hold in the laughter, and my face began to brighten up.

"I wish Zimmy were with us," I told them. "He'd have a ball with us…"

"And get into big trouble," 'Nathan' added. "It's like I turn my back for one minute, and the kitchen's on fire!"

"Wait," I said. "Did that really happen?"

"Of course not!" he laughed. "I was just saying…"

"Oh," I laughed. "Because I don't really know with you guys anymore. I mean, you, for one, chugged milk the one time…"

"You chugged milk?" Jack asked his cousin. "That sounds like something Foxadore and Prowler would do!"

"And the guys said it didn't end well, either…" I added in.

"Course not," Jack said. "It's a whole carton of milk! I don't think anyone could chug down _that_ much."

We then came up to the workshop, and walked right in like we owned the place. The inside looked a whole lot larger than the outside, probably because the whole place was built into the ground. The three of us began to tour around, making sure nothing was wrong. The whole place seemed to be doing just fine, and we were all glad that it was.

"Nothing's going wrong," I sighed. "That's a relief…"

The rest of the days went exactly like that. When we finally hit Christmas Eve, it seemed like everyone working there was in more of a hurry than we were.

"Looks like we got no problems again," 'Nathan' told his cousin. "That's good news…"

"It sure is," Jack said. "And I'm sure everything's going to go swell today, or at least I hope…"

"So, what now?" I asked. "Do we sit back and watch, or do we help out?"

"Maybe the two of us should do something," 'Nathan' answered.

"Yeah!" I said. "We should! I'll follow you!"

We left Jack to watch over things as we left to help out with anything that we could. It was hard to find someone to help us find a job, for **everyone** was working there.

"You're looking for a job?" I heard a small voice ask.

I looked down to see a small girl. She was wearing a small, red dress and had a piece of holly in her hair. She was not an elf, but a young human girl. She reminded me of Jewel way back when I first met Slendy, besides that she had blondish-brown hair.

"Yes, we are," I answered her kindly.

"I can help," she told us. "My name's Holly. Kind of obvious, if ya ask me."

'Nathan' and I looked at each other, surprised that this girl was even here. She seemed nice (of course, everyone in Christmas town is) and helping. We followed her out another exit to the building and took us to the stalls.

"The stalls?" I asked her. "Why here?"

"I saw you ride them the one night," she answered. "And nobody even dares to do that anymore. Not since one bucked an elf off…"

"Oh, so you want us to help with them," I smiled. "But how so?"

"Not just help with them," Holly giggled. "I need help setting up the sleigh!"

"Oh…" both 'Nathan' and I said simultaneously.

We began to take the reindeer out of the stalls, reins in our hands, and follow Holly out to the sleigh. The jingling of the reindeer's harnesses filled up the silence as we walked all the way towards the middle of town. We then saw the sleigh there, bright and red, being watched by other elves.

"Just watch me," the girl said. "I'll show ya how to hook them up…"

We watched as she took the reins of Dasher's harness and began to drag him over to the sleigh. She then threw the reins back and latches them on. I then took Prancer and hook him up in the appropriate spot, and 'Nathan' did the same for Vixen. I was then down to Rudolph, who I hooked up in the front to lead.

"Now what?" 'Nathan' asked.

"Do you like to polish?" Holly asked him back.

"I guess I do," he replied.

"Then you can polish the sleigh," she said, and then turned to me. "And do you like baking?"

"Heck yeah!" I laughed.

"Then you can help me bake some cookies," she smiled.

"Oh, she'll be good at that!" 'Nathan' commented. "Remember last years?"

"Oh, yeah!" I said. "One of the best years of baking that I ever had!"

Holly then took my hand, breaking me away from 'Nathan'. She then led me into a big kitchen, with many elves baking all sorts of desserts. From fruitcake to Figgie Pudding, it was all there. Even the sent of pie lifted the air, reminding me of home.

"We have no one on sugar cookies," Holly finally told me. "You can be on that station, since you seem to know how to make them well…"

She pointed to an empty place amongst busy elves, working frantically to get things done. I started off with tripling the batch, since the mixer was huge, and began to make it just like I did back at my old house. When I put them in the oven, I started to make more and more until I was out of ingredients. Holly came over to check them (and by check, I mean taste), and she said they were absolutely delicious.

"You make them better than we do," she complimented. "I never tasted anything so good in my life!"

I began to blush at this comment, as people started to rush over to try, but she stopped them.

"This is for the Christmas party!" she yelled at them. "You'll have a bite of one then, but now, they must be saved!"

The workers moaned as they went back to work, and I laughed.

"Now, back to work," she told everyone, and left.

"Oh, wait," I called. "I'm out of flour, wait!"

I began to follow her, all the way until I couldn't find her any more.

"Where'd she go?" I wondered aloud. "Where the heck did Holly run off to?"

I then heard a childish giggle, and I ran towards it, hoping it was her. I was right, but I was also wrong.

**Chapter Eighteen**

_Let's go for a Sleigh Ride!_

"Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!" the giggle continued as a cackle. "Now, Holly, have you gotten them to work?"

"Yes," Holly's sweet voice rang in my ears. "They're at work. PLEASE DON'T HURT ME!"

"Oh, no I wont," the voice said. "I'll take out the new person in charge easy! Once he's out, I'll be able to get to the others, too!"

The voice belongs to no other than Ruby's. I gasped in horror, worried about Jack and 'Nathan'. _What do I do?_ My mind raced. _Do I help Holly with my powers? Or do I go and warn Jack? Holly… Jack… Holly… Jack…_

I decided not to mess with Ruby, to the fear of being hurt or having Holly be hurt, and ran off t get Jack. I searched everywhere, and eventually found the guy right where we left him.

"Jack!" I called to the boy. "Jack, come here, quick!"

"Oh, great," he muttered. "Not a problem. What is it?"  
Once he came over, I explained everything to him. Once he heard about Ruby, he wanted to hear no more.

"Where is she?" he asked.

"I'll show you," I replied, and we ran off towards where I was last.

When  
we got there, all I could see was Holly tied up in ropes, and we had to un-tie her.

"Where'd Ruby go?" I asked her.

"She went that way," se told us, pointing a finger towards the end of the alley. "And how'd you know Ruby?"  
"We'll tell you later," Jack told her. "Right now, we have to go."

I then felt the grip of Jack's hands as he dragged me away from the girl asking the questions.

"We have to stay on track," he told me. "For who knows who is involved in all this? We have to find 'Nathan' and fast. Where'd ya see him last?"

"He was suppose to be polishing the sleigh," I told him. "He should be there…"

We ran for the third time towards the sleigh, and I noticed it was already polished. All who was there was one elf looking over the sleigh. She was small, and I assumed she was a kid, but not like Holly.

"Did you see where the boy go?" I asked her.

"The boy who was polishing?" she asked me.

"YES!" both Jack and I said.

"He went with a red-headed girl," she told us. "She looked like you at first, then changed as she left…"

Her finger was pointed right at me when she said 'looked like you'. That could only mean that Ruby can shape-shift as well, which is not good **at all**. Jack and I thanked the little elf, and headed towards where her finger was pointed. We ran and ran until Jack stopped me.

"Trouble," he said. "I think Mark's there, too…"

"Ah, crap!" I muttered. "What now?"  
"You shape-shift, don't you?" he asked me. "You have a necklace, too. I saw it while I was in the bottle…"

"Oh, yeah," I said. "But I don't know if I can change into other people. Oh, I'll try…"

I thought long and hard, shutting my eyes to focus. When I opened them, I was much smaller.

"You turned into Holly?" he asked me. "Are ya sure you want to go with this?"

"I've got a plan," I told him. "I know what to do… tie me up with the rope so-"

"Wait, you want me to do WHAT?"

"You heard me," I snapped back. "I have to make this believable…"

He was a bit surprised at the demand, but questioned no more as he tied me up and sent me on my way. I hopped the best I could until Ruby saw me.

"Holly?" she asked. "How were you able to stand? You were sitting wen I tied you up!"

"Some elf helped me up," I lied. "Too bad he couldn't untie me."

"No matter," Mark said. "You can't do anything with the rope on. Anyways, were heading back to the other town. Stick to our plan, and don't tell anyone, understand?"

"What was the plan again?" I asked, keeping my roleplaying simple.

"We're taking eyeless guy here and doing 'the thing'…" Ruby answered.

"'The thing'?" I asked. "What's 'the thing'?"

"We told ya this before," Mark yelled. "We're not saying it again. Anyways, if you can find Jack, too, tie him up and bring him to us. We'll send the backup plan to find him. He's not too important to capture, unless he gets these plans. Got it?"

"Got it," I repeated. "And who's the backup?"

They didn't answer, for they left before I could say anything else. I ran back to Jack for him to untie me. As he did, I told him everything.

"But who's backup?" he asked.

"That's the thing," I told him. "I simply do not know…"

"And whatever 'the thing' is, I'll send a message out to the others. I'm sure they'll find him. Right now, we're staying here. I can't have you in this mess, too…"

"You're starting to sound like him now," I moaned. "Slendy, I mean, when we first met. I can now see the relationship in ya guys…"

He finally got the rope off, and I changed back to my normal self. We headed back, wondering what to do now.

"I'll send the message out," he told me.

"I'll go find Holly," I told him. "If she's really a villain, then she'll need to be watched, too…"

"Fine," he replied. "But don't burn down the place, okay?"

"Okay," I laughed, and headed off towards the small alley where we were.

It only took me a couple of minutes to get there, and once I did, I saw no sign of Holly but footprints. I then followed them until I saw that it led up towards the kitchen where I was baking earlier, and I found her in my station.

"Oh, you're back," she smiled. "I didn't want to trick ya guys, it's just… I was forced to…"

"I understand," I told her. "Where were they taking him?"

"To Halloweentown," the girl replied. "They're going to try and do something horrible to him…"

"Oh, great," I sighed. "Do you at least know who backup is?"

"They wont tell me," Holly sighed. "It's like their little secret…"

"Great," I muttered. "Now what? I have no information on anything!"

"I wish I could tell you," she said. "If I did, I would be punished!"

"No, no," I told her. "I get that part. It's just…"

I let out a long sigh, my head hurting from being puzzled.

"You miss him already, don't cha?" she asked.

"Uh, what?"

"That Nathan boy," she laughed. "You already miss him! I know it!"

"Well," I blushed. "He's my-"

"Don't tell me," she interrupted. "I get it. Aren't you going to get him?"

"I wish," I muttered. "Jack wont let me. He's getting my other friends to go catch him anyways…"

"Oh," she wondered. "Who's Jack?"

"The guy in charge now," I told her. "The one who helped me get you out of those ropes…"

"OH, him! Well, he's been doing a good job with this, even though he seems familiar…"

"I guess I can tell you," I whispered to her. "Just don't tell anyone, okay?"

"Okay," she whispered back.

"You see this?" I asked her, holding up my necklace. "This is a magical crystal. Jack has one just like it, and it makes him look like that. 'Nathan' has one as well. Can you guess who they _really_ are? You might know who Jack is, but I don't know about 'Nathan'…"

She was puzzling, puzzling, so confused and so much in thought of this. She then gave up, and I had to tell her.

"Jack's name is still the same," I told her. "He's the pumpkin king! And 'Nathan' is his brother Slender man!"

"THAT'S WHO THEY ARE!" she shouted, understanding. "That's why they sound so familiar…"

I giggled a bit, smiling. Holly then looked at the time, and gasped.

"We have to get Jack and 'Nathan' back quick," she told me. "We need them in exactly an hour for prepping!"

She then dragged my hand, pushing me through the crowd to find Jack. We found him by Town Square, and we explained the timing issue.

"Prepping?" he asked. "Uh, okay then. Maybe I should go help them with-"

"OH C'MON!" I told him. "You're not letting me go still? Surely you haven't heard of me fighting Rocky when he lost his mind a while back, and fighting those Proxy hunters, too…"

"Hey, I'm just following 'Nathan's' orders," he said back. "He told me not to let you go anywhere out of here if something ever happened. He had a feeling something would while we were here and-"

"Enough said," I stopped him. "If that's what he really said, then so be it. He's literally the boss f me now, and I can't do much about it."

Holly just stared at us in confusion, and I just told her that it's too hard to explain.

"Maybe I should go and help," she told me. "I know what they're doing and-"

"Yes, go," Jack told her. "And hurry!"

After she ran off, I just stared at the guy.

"What?" he asked.

"I can't even believe that 'Nathan' would give you orders like that," I told him. "He knows I can fight. I guess he's just worried about my powers draining out…"

"I don't really know what he thinks," Jack told me. "He's always acting weird like that. Why, you should've seen him when we were kids! The things he came up with…"

"I've heard of things about him being creative before," I said. "Was he really **that** creative?"

"To be honest, he was. Some of the weirdest stuff, like dragons and knights, you know, stuff like that. But they weren't so, ordinary. They had unusual powers, like a dragon that could change to snow, or a knight who didn't really want to be a knight. Ah, those were the good old days…"

We sat there in silence, waiting for Holly, and hopefully 'Nathan', to return. It didn't take long before they did, and I was glad that they were okay.

"What the heck happened?" I asked him.

"Ruby's good at shape shifting, let me tell ya that," he laughed. "They were also going to shoot me with something. I had no idea what it was, though…"

"Couldn't you change back?" I asked.

"Nope. Strapped me to an electric chair."

"Dang," Jack joined in. "They found your weakness. Might be careful with them…"

Holly then disappeared from us, as I was going to thank her. I then forgot about it and let the girl elves take me to the prepping room, whatever the heck that is.

"Oh, we've got the perfect outfit for you," the one said.

"Your takeoff will be grand in this," another told me.

The little elves then shoved me in a room with one closet and a really pretty dress. The dress was slim, and had sleeves on it for the cold. It was a sparkly red, and it reminded me of the one dress Gemm wore to the prom the one year.

"Go ahead," one of the elves said. "Go try it on!"

I didn't dare ask any questions as I went in the closet to put the dress on. When I came out, they were all smiling successful smiles.

"Now, about that hair…" another elf said, coming up to me. "Girls, get me a chair. We've got our work cut out for us!"  
I realized my hair needed to be combed through, since there was always a chilling breeze up here and the winds are harsh. Plus, I haven't given it much thought, lately, and the guys don't really mind at all. The elf then got a hue hairbrush and started to comb through, tugging and gripping until every knot was out. Next, she took my hair and curled it a bit, and then for the finishing touch…

"A bow?" I wondered aloud. "I love bows!"

"But this isn't just any bow!" the elf said. "This is one bow that defiantly speaks 'Christmas'."

She was right, for the red bow was just like the ones you put on presents (not the ones that look like the ones on your shoes!). She shoved it in my hair, and my hair was done.

"Now, for the details…" she began, and took out a makeup kit.

"Makeup as well?" I asked.

"Of course, sweetie! Why, with the headlights on, you'll look as pale as a ghost without this!"

With a bit of blush, a tad of red eye shadow, and some red lipstick, I looked like a giant Christmas present. I also had some sparkly red shoes with the same little bows on them.

"Any jewelry?" the elf asked the others.

"She's gorgeous already," another awed.

"Ah, well, earrings couldn't hurt, could it?" I replied.

"Excellent idea!" the elf that did my hair replied. "I have the perfect pair right here…"

She then grabbed out of the box two small earrings. They looked like the light bulbs on a Christmas tree, but didn't have the metal tabs on the end. They were red, too, just like everything else. I put them in myself, letting them dangle a bit.

"Now she's ready to go!" the elf told the others, smiling a wide smile.

I was then dragged down towards the sleigh, and the boys weren't there yet.

"Oh, good," the elf said. "You'll be a good surprise. We're having Jack in the usual Santa suit, while Nathan will be in the perfect outfit!"

"Are you sure Jack's gonna fit in that suit?" I asked her.

"Oh, don't worry, we had a special one made just for him!"

They sat me in the sleigh, ready to go. I waited for about half an hour before I even saw someone coming to the sleigh. It happened to be 'Nathan' and his face lit up when he saw me.

"Holy crap," he gasped. "You're in a fancy dress for tonight…"

"Same with you," I told him.

He was wearing his usual suit and tie, but the suit was cleaner and the tie has red and white stripes.

"I didn't really need a new tuxedo," he told me. "But, what they put on me is what I have to wear. Are you sure you can get in and out of houses in that dress?"

"I don't think they even know I'm doing that!" I joked. "Otherwise I would be in a much more normal dress."

We waited again to see Jack, who was in a very slim Santa suit and hat. Again, with sharing compliments, I was always the nicest.

"Okay, seriously though, do we really have to be _this_ dressed up?" I wondered aloud.

"I have no idea," 'Nathan' answered. "I guess its tradition?"

"Who really cares?" Jack asked. "We're going to be in a sleigh at about a thousand miles an hour and doing our job with no one seeing. It doesn't really matter what the heck we wear… well… except for mine, since he suit probably lets me do things…"

"Are we clear about what we're doing?" I asked them.

"Yep," 'Nathan' replied. "You and Jack are going to deliver while I watch the sleigh, though I think I should go down too…"

"No," Jack told him. "Way too many people. Trust me, I know what I'm doing with this…"

We waited for a while until it was almost time to go. The elves got the sleigh loaded up while we sat in the sleigh, waiting for a signal to let us go. We planned a simple route for us to go, and then Jack realized something.

"I this suit really has magic," he said. "And I need it to get in and out of houses, then doesn't Crystal need magic, too?"

"I guess," 'Nathan' said, questioning it himself. "Just in case she does…"

Jack then took off the hat and handed it to me. I put it on, understanding why he wanted me to have it. I did feel a bit of rush go through me when I put it on, and my mark began to glow.

"Guess you were right, Jack," 'Nathan' muttered to him. "You always seem to be right…"

I sat the hat a certain way so it felt comfortable to me. I then watched as Jack started to take the reins, ready to take off. The whole Town Square was filled up with the tiny workers, ready for us to go.

"Ready guys?" Jack asked us.

"READY!" both 'Nathan' and I said simultaneously.

The signal was given, and Jack held the reins tightly in his hands. Before any of us knew it, we were already up off the ground! We began to soar through the sky, laughing and having fun. We went all around the world in such little time, probably because it seems like time slows down when we're in the sleigh. We went from Germany, to France, to Italy, China, Australia, Japan, and even to all of Russia! We then came back to the Americas and went all the way around until we were in Pennsylvania.

"Look," I said, pointing to the mailbox. "This is Laura's house! That means Emily's must be close by, since they go to the same school and all."

"You're right," 'Nathan' said back. "This is her house. I wonder if we'll see Masky or E.J. while we're here…"

When we hit the rooftop, Jack and I jumped out and grabbed the bag for the house, since we were given a bag for each house due to the weight in the huge bag. With my hat still on, I jumped down the chimney first, with Jack right after. We then found ourselves right by the tree, which made it easy for us to get the job done.

"Here," Jack told me, holding the bag. "You put the stuff under the tree this time, while I'll keep watch."

"Okay," I whisper back. "Just be careful if anyone gets out of bed. We don't want the cops to be called on us…"

He ran around the corner, and I started to take the stuff out of the bag. I realized there was a second hallway, right behind me and very well hidden. I ignored it as I put the things under the decorated evergreen, making sure that I didn't forget anything in the bag.

"Um, who the heck are you?"

**Chapter Nineteen**

_Jack's Gift_

"Huh?" I asked, looking behind my shoulder to see whoever just spoke.

"Crystal?" the voice asked again. "What the heck are you doing here? And who's the boy with you?"

That's when Jack started to come over, hearing the girl's voice and knew it was trouble.

"Oh, Laura," I laughed. "Listen, it's a long story. Ya see, the guy with me is Slendy's cousin and-"

"So you broke into my house?" Laura asked, mad as ever.

"No, no," I told her. "Jack, will you turn into your normal self to help me out?"

"Are you sure about-" he began to say.

"She knows Slendy, so you're fine," I told him.

He then gave me an odd look, but turned to his normal, skeleton form. That's when Laura's jaw dropped and her eyes widen.

"So, wait a second," she said. "You're with Jack Skellington, who also happens to be Slendy's cousin?"

"That's right," I told her. "So you'll believe me when I tell you that we're just helping Santa out here with delivery?"

"Yes," she laughed. "I thought this was a crazy dream at first! Okay, you guys are good. Do you want some help?"

"Nah, it's all good here," I assured her. "We have to be quick, though we're almost done. We only have my hometown to stop at, and just in the nick of time! Anyways, 'Nathan' is waiting for us at the sleigh, so-"

"May I ask one thing," Laura interrupted.

"Uh, sure," I answered.

"Can I see the sleigh?" she excitedly asked.

"Uh, is that okay?" I asked Jack, who had now turned back into his disguise.

"I guess so," he replied. "But just to see…"

I then took her hand and went into the chimney. The magic from my hat brought us up to the rooftop, showing the sleigh, the reindeer, and 'Nathan' guarding it.

"Oh, so Laura heard you guys," he said, seeing her.

"I heard the sleigh hit the roof," she told us. "I thought something was wrong…"

She eyed the flying machine like some UFO had crashed into her house. She then asked to pet one of the reindeer, and we let her carefully do so. As she stroke Rudolph's back, she asked us some questions.

"We don't have much time," I told her after we answered the fifth question. "We got to go. Maybe we can let jack visit the collage once in a while, but that's it."

"Okay," she smiled. "Merry Christmas, you guys!"

"Merry Christmas, Laura," we said back, and I took her down the chimney, and just in time, too.

Jack had just finished his job, and was ready to get going. We let Laura get back to bed, and we headed up towards the sleigh. We did hit Emily's place, and she woke up, too, but she didn't need to see the sleigh like Laura did. We did show her who Jack was, and she was literally hugging him to death. We then left again, and hit where E.J. and Masky were hanging out, and they had a huge tree house in the middle of the woods. Yeah, that was 'fun' parking the sleigh. After we left there, we headed all the way around and back to New Jersey, where we even headed to some of my old friends houses. When we reached our last stop, which was Zack's house, I was so tempted to prank it, but I didn't. The reason being was because first, it was Christmas Eve, and second, we'd get the cops called on us. When Jack and I were in the house, he realized that there was a small tree in Zack's room, too.

"Here," he said, handing me the small present. "Sneak into his room and put this under the tree…"

"Do I have to?" I asked. "If I get caught, it'd be really awkward…"

"Just turn invisible," he told me. "You can do that, right?"

"Yeah," I whispered. "I can. Forgot about that."

I took the present and headed down the long hallway. I then opened the door lightly and went into the boy's bedroom. The whole place was covered in nothing but comic books and some t-shirts, and then I found the little tree right by the bed. I quickly turned invisible and headed by the tree. I carefully placed the present under it, and looked at the bed. _Something's not right_ I told myself. _Something's clearly wrong, but what?_ I stared at the bed, and decided to pull one of the covers up. I then kept pulling until I reached the final blanket. Something defiantly felt off. I then pulled up the last cover, only to see nothing but a box and some other toys, making it seem like a child was sleeping in the bed. I stumbled back, scared at first of this. I knew that this means the boy was up, and something bad is going to happen. I ran to Jack, telling him what I saw.

"If the boy's up, we would've heard him by now…" he whispered to me, being careful.

"True," I whispered back. "So where is he?"

I turned invisible again, since I had to be visible to talk with Jack, and started to search the house. When I couldn't find him, the two of us agreed that it's better that we leave now instead of searching for him. When we went back to the sleigh, I told 'Nathan' about the missing boy.

"Must've been somewhere else," he said. "It doesn't matter. The point is you guys didn't get caught."

We flew back to Christmas Town, and just in time. When we landed, the clock had just stroke twelve, meaning it was now officially Christmas.

"Mission accomplished!" I said. "We did it guys!"  
We got off the sleigh, letting the rest up to the reindeer. It was then time for us to head back home to the mansion, since the machine was probably now fixed. When we did head back to Halloweentown, we grabbed Jewel and Zimmy to get them home. We then said our goodbyes, but Jack stopped me.

"Here's to you," he whispered in my ear, and handed me something.

It was small enough to fit in my pocket, and that's where I hid it.

"Are you coming or not, Crystal?" Zimmy asked me.

"Coming," I said, and gave Jack a hug goodbye.

He didn't mind, for we became good friends. I then stepped on the platform, and in an instant, we were back to the ring of trees.

"I didn't expect you to hug him," Zimmy said. "What was that about?"

"He's now an official friend of mine," I smiled as I told the cat. "I hug all my friends, as you guys know, and he's been really nice to me…"

'Nathan' just rolled his eyes, and I finally asked.

"You're jealous, aren't you?" I asked, all sly and acting smart.

"What? Nah…" he said, but with shifty eyes and a little nervous laugh at the end.

"Oh, c'mon!" I laughed. "You know that I know what's up."

"You've always been jealous of him," Zimmy told him. "I can see why you're jealous now…"

"I'M NOT JEALOUS!" he screamed, and I came over to him.

"Fine then," I laughed. "I guess I should give ya something…"

I then kissed him full on the lips, and I though he would almost faint. The others just stared in surprised, probably because it's been so long that I've done it.

"Okay, okay, I confess," he told us. "Maybe I am, but it's nothing, really…"

"Sure it is," Zimmy joined me. "Just like it's no biggie that I have predictions about Jack being the new you…"

"What the heck does that mean?" I asked him.

"It means that when 'Nathan' is fully out of the killing business that Jack will become a killer, unless Crystal can do anything about it…"

"What the heck?" both 'Nathan' and I asked the cat.

"Okay, first of all, Jack's not like that," 'Nathan' said. "And second of all, I can't really get out of the killing business. I mean, I'm done killing, but I'm forever a Creepy Pasta…"

"Ah, yeah, you're right about the job thing," Zimmy told us. "But Crystal will know what I'm about to say next, since she's watched the movie so many times. Jack can get a little crazy at some times, and he might get a tad bit crazy and never come out of it again!"

"I know what he means," I said. "Like his laugh. Sometimes it's normal, but sometimes it's just plain creepy. Well, I shouldn't say 'creepy', but it is still insane…"

"Oh, now I know what you guys mean," 'Nathan' chimed in. "That's a slim chance of happening, though, unless his vision is right…"

"What?" I asked. "The one about you being paralyzed?"

"Exactly," he told us. "If I get in a coma or something, it could make him snap unless something gets his mind off it, hence where you come in, Crystal. That's the only thing that could stop it."

"Oh," I slowly said, my eyes as big as saucers. "I don't really want to think about anything like that right now. I mean, c'mon, it's Christmas for crying out loud!"

The rest of us laughed as we headed back to the mansion and Jewel went home. I then slumped into the bed and fell instantly to sleep. I then felt something nudging me, and I found Jeff at my bed.

"What the heck, Jeff?" I moaned.

"C'mon, I need help with something," he told me.

"What?" I asked.

"Just, c'mon!" he said, and grabbed my arm to pull me out of bed.

"Okay, okay, I'm up!" I laughed.

I was still in the weird dress and my regular jeans (I didn't want to take them off when I was changing). I then set the present from Jack on the desk and I began to wipe my eyes.

"What's that?" Jeff asked me.

"Oh, Jack gave me it," I sleepily said. "Some Christmas present. I don't really know what…"

Jeff then had me carry something as we headed towards the little tree he and Jess must've put up while the rest of us were gone. I then helped him lay the presents down, and the two of us were proud of how the tree now looked.

"Out of all the trees I had to set up tonight, this has got to be one of the coolest…" I told him.

"Really?" he asked. "Are you just saying that?"  
"Of course not!" I replied. "I mean it! I honestly do! Anyways, did you and Jess put this up?"

"Yep," he said. "How'd you know?"

"I just figured it," I told him. "No one else was here that we know of…"

"Hey, what took you guys so long?" he asked. "You've been gone for, like what, a week?"

"Oh, that was because we had trouble with some things…"

"Like, what?"

"Like, Jack being tiny and stuck in a bottle type problems. We had to go to Prowler and Foxadore's universe to get help. We also had to help with Christmas since Santa got sick and all that, so those things took up a lot of time."

"Oh," was all Jeff said for about 3 minutes. "Hey, weren't you suppose to bring those two back with you?"

"Who? Foxadore and Prowler? They were going to come back after the New Year, since they were celebrating back at home…"

"Makes sense," he replied. "Hey, did ya meet people at their place?"

"Oh, yeah! I met Foxadore's whole family and the cell-trappers, but that was pretty much it."

"But you didn't meet Tim yet?" he asked.

"Who's Tim?" I asked back.

"Tim is one of Foxadore's friends. The kid's really nice, though we hadn't heard much about him since last year. We were just wondering how the kid's doing."

The two of us then headed back to bed, and I just flopped on the bed again. Before I drifted off to sleep, I gazed at the small gift on the desk. It was nicely wrapped in red-and-white-striped paper, and had a small bow on top. It was simply a Christmas present, I was sure of that. I thought of what could be under the wrapping, since it had to be something really cool (there was a feeling in my gut about this). I then fell instantly to sleep, dreaming about the sleigh ride that night and how much fun it was. When I woke up, it was finally Christmas morning! I looked at Jess, who was asleep on the floor like usual. I jumped down from the bed and, like a little 5-year-old; I shoved Jess on the shoulder until she woke up.

"Wake up, wake up!" I chanted. "It's Christmas! It's finally here!"

"What?" she moaned. "Oh, it is! Merry Christmas Crystal!"

"And a Merry Christmas to you, too, Jess," I replied. "Let's get everyone awake. You have to come with me, though, since I don't know if the guys are morning people…"

"I know Zimmy and Jeff won't be," she laughed. "But it depends with Slendy. I'll go with you for him."

We headed to the two, and I was the one who had to poke Jeff awake.

"Dang it, Crystal," he shouted at me. "Five more minutes!"

"Oh, no! You're getting up!" I laughed, and grabbed his hand.

I then yanked it to have him fall on the hard floor, and he was finally up. Jess had no trouble getting Zimmy up, for all she had to do was pick him up. Zimmy was a little tired, but was just happy that it was Christmas morning.

"Now, on to Slendy," I whispered to them, since we were almost right outside his door.

"You're in luck," Zimmy told me. "For he went to bed as 'Nathan'."

"Oh, thank goodness," Jeff sighed. "Okay, Crystal's got this…"

"Wait, what?" I asked.

"You're his GF for crying out loud," Jess told me. "We'll be right behind you. No worries!"

I slowly opened the door into the dark bedroom. All I could make out was the bed and 'Nathan' just flopped on top of it.

"Are you sure about this?" I asked them in a whisper.

"Go on," Zimmy told me. "It's fine. I do the same thing every morning to him when he was his normal self. He didn't care at all, and plus, it's freaking Christmas!"

I kept that thought in mind as I inched my way towards the bed. I then tried something that would surely get him up. I slowly hopped on the bed and inched my way to him. I watched as Jess and Jeff were literally keeping their laughs in. I got really close to 'Nathan's' ear, and I began to whisper.

"'Nathan'… 'Nathan'… get the heck up… its Christmas already… get up… get up…"

I then began to repeatedly poke him, chanting the words 'get up… get up…' to him until he started to snore.

"Okay guys," I whispered to the group. "I'm going to need Zimmy with me for this one…"

The cat then hopped on the bed, and I told him to help me push him off. The cat strangely looked at me at first, then agreed. We kept pushing until 'Nathan' was on the floor, still sleeping like a baby.

"Okay, new plan," I thought aloud. "You guys, help me lift him up…"

"Do it with your powers," Zimmy told me. "It should be fine, for you haven't used them for a while…"

I then lifted him up with my powers, and began to walk to the door. I told Jeff to open it, and he did so. I then walked all the way out to the porch, and then levitated 'Nathan' out a bit. He was then directly over the snowy ground, and I dropped him onto it. He woke up instantly, and the rest of us laughed.

"What the heck!" he called to us. "What's this for?"

"It's Christmas!" I called back to him. "The rest of my ideas wouldn't work!"

He then stared at me oddly, and then began to laugh. We all then laughed as well, and I threw myself into the snow with him. We threw snowballs at each other until we decided to get inside for some warmth. So, once we got inside, we sat by the tree and started to give out gifts. I then went into my room and took out each of their present, which was all the same thing. I also brought Jack's gift with me, and I kept that in my pocket.

"Okay guys, you all keep telling me you wish you had something to do, don't you?" I asked them.

"Uh, yeah!" Jess replied. "We all get bored since the guys don't kill anymore!"

"Do you mind reading?" I asked them. "Even if you know the story already?"

"Not at all," Zimmy told me. "We don't mind."

"Then open up your gifts!"

They did so, and each one revealed a small book that was hand-made and all typed out. I explained to them that this book was on the first year of how we met each other, and how I've even got this posted on the Internet. They were surprised at this, and were amazed that I wrote a whole book on it.

"How long did this take you?" Jeff asked me. "Surely half a year or so!"

"Nope," I answered. "About a month…"

"A month!" Jess said. "I could never write something that fast!"

"How'd you have the time to even do this?" 'Nathan' asked me. "I mean, with schoolwork and all that…"

"I started to write about ten pages a night," I told them. "No biggie, since I was looking for something to do…"

They then started to exchange gifts with one another. I got a couple of cute earrings and all that, and 'Nathan' even gave me a couple of new notebooks (thank goodness, since I did need some for doodling and free write) and I moved to Jack's gift.

"Who's that for?" Zimmy asked me.

"For myself," I told them. "Jack gave it to me right before we left…"

"Really?" 'Nathan' asked. "He would've told me about this usually if he gave you something…"

"What are we waiting for?" Jess asked me. "Open it, Crystal. There's bound to be something good under that wrapping!"

I began to tear open the paper carefully, since I wanted to save the paper (don't ask why, but I felt like I should). I then revealed a small box, and slowly opened it. I found a small key inside and started to question it.

**Chapter Twenty**

_Kidnapped!_

"A key?" I asked. "He gave me a key? A key to what?"

"Here, give me that," 'Nathan' told me, and I handed the small key to him. "Holy crap! He gave you _this_ key? I can't believe it!"

"What?" Jeff asked him. "What's so special about it?"

"This isn't just any key," he told the group. "This is a magic key. To make it work, you have to put it in any door you want to. With the hand still on the key, think of the place you want to go. Open the door with thought still in mind, and walk through the door. You will then be exactly at the place where you were thinking of!"

"So, that's what it is!" I exclaimed. "Hold on, let me try this…"

I took the key and put it in the lock on one door. I then thought about my bedroom. I slowly opened the door with the bedroom still in my mind. I looked into the black space and walked into it. Before I knew it, I was in my bedroom! I then opened the door and came through the hallway, with the others confused on where I went.

"It works!" I told them. "It really works!"

I then put the key in my pocket, saving it for later. The rest of the day I went to the hideout to meet up with Gemm and the others that I haven't seen in so long. I met Ben and L.J. there first, happy to see them. Appy came in a little later, and we were so glad to finally see each other again.

"We haven't seen ya in, like, forever!" Ben told me. "You should see our collage sometime, for it's really nice."

"You should see our room mates," Appy joked. "They're really 'nice' people…"

Fern, Emma and Sarah then came in the hideout, and we were talking up a storm. I then told them about Jack and the key, and they found the story interesting.

"You should've seen Jack when he turned human," I told them. "He looked just like Jack Frost from some kids' movie!"

"You should see our teachers," Sarah told me. "I mean, lives up to her name!"

I then began to laugh. I gave them all one of the books I made, too, and in return, they all pitched in to give me a small whiteboard that also had a chalkboard on back. It also came with the utensils I needed for it, and I thanked them for the awesome gift. We spent the whole day there, but there was no sign of Gemm anywhere.

"Where the heck is Gemm?" Sarah asked. "She should've been here a while ago!"

"Maybe she forgot," I told them. "Here, why don't Emma, Sarah, Fern and I go to her house and get her. I'm sure it wont be long!"

And that's exactly what we did. We walked all the way to her house, and we rang the doorbell. It was her mother who answered us, and when we asked for her, the mother looked like she was about to cry.

"She's been missing for days," she told us. "Along with that Zack kid, too. We haven't seen any sign of them since last week."

"I'm so sorry," I told her. "We'll look for her, we promise!"

We then left the place before we had to sit through a whole speech of how she went missing. We came back and told the guys what happened, and they were surprised.

"I don't really care about Zack," Ben said. "I mean, none of us do. But Gemm and Zack being missing at the same time is a problem…"

"I kind of knew a bit about the Zack thing," I confessed. "I went to his house to deliver presents last night, obviously, and when I had to go in his bedroom, he had stuff in his bed to make it look like he was sleeping in there."

"That's kind of creepy," Emma replied. "But it doesn't make any sense. It seems like Zack ran away, but what's with Gemm disappearing at the same time?"  
We questioned for a moment, until I thought I heard a faint sound. It wasn't just ringing in my ears, for the sound was high pitch, like the squealing of a piglet.

"What?" Fern questioned me. "What is it?"

"SHHH!" I told the group, and silence fell upon the hideout.

We all began to listen, and I began to loom towards the sound.

"What the heck _is_ that?" L.J. wondered.

"I don't know, but it's giving me a headache," Appy moaned.

"Will you guys shush?" I asked, annoyed.

They got quiet right away, and I heard the sound grow a bit until I can make out what it is.

"Screaming?" I whispered. "SCREAMING! OH CRAP!"

I began to run out of the hideout and towards the sound. I kept running and running until I could make out what the voice was saying.

"Help! Help me! Anybody!"

"Gemm?" I called out, knowing the voice. "Gemm! Hang on!"

I ran even faster until my legs burned like fire. I could then make out Gemm being dragged through the ground at a rapid speed. Her face was dirty from being dragged across the ground, as well as her air in a bit of a mangled mess.

"Crystal! Help!" she called to me, knowing I was chasing after her.

"What the? Oh, great, not again!" Another voice said, who I assumed was the person dragging her.

"Let her go!" I called to the kidnapper.

"Why don't you come and _get_ her!"

I ran so fast that I thought I would pass out. I then began to look around, realizing where the heck we were. _We're heading up to the trees again? This can't be good!_ My mind was full of horrible thoughts. The sack man already wanted Gemm once, and I knew he wanted her again for the same reason, but what? What reason could he possibly have? I didn't dare ask myself questions again, for I had to focus on running. I was so close, and I almost had Gemm's hand in my grasp, but I slipped and fell right on the ground. The kidnapper kept running, and reached the ring of trees, and slipped out of sight.

"Crystal!" I heard a voice behind me say. "Oh my-"

"Help me up, quick!" I told the person behind me, too weak from running to even move.

The person happened to be Ben, and the others helped me up as well. I told them everything briefly, and explained where I think they went.

"Halloweentown?" Appy questioned. "Why there?"

"That's where the new villains are," I explained. "Now, get into your disguises and let's get over to the mansion, quick!"

"Why in disguises?" L.J. asked.

"Just incase," I told them. "You never know if we need it…"

"Good point," Ben commented. "Alright, you heard her, in disguises, NOW!"

The guys then turned into regular boys, and the girls helped me up. We then ran again to the mansion, which was not far away. Once the place was in view, I saw 'Ricky' right away, saying goodbye to Jess and letting her go.

"Oh, you're back," the boy said once Jess was out of view. "Why'd you bring the others with you."

"Quick," I told him. "Where are the others?"

"Inside," he told me. "I don't know what they're doing, but they're inside."

"Get them," I said. "And hurry, for we don't have much time!"

The boy raced into the house, and in a few seconds, 'Greg' and 'Nathan' were out with him.

"What the heck's going on?" 'Greg' asked me. "We were having a-"

"Again, we don't have time," I interrupted. "Gemm got kidnapped! I tried to chase her down, but they ran off into the holiday trees and jumped into one."

"Oh, great," 'Nathan' sarcastically said. "Can they ever leave us alone?"

"We had the problem once already," I explained. "When we first got there. The sack man wanted her for some reasons. Said he'd give her powers…"

"That's all the information we need," 'Ricky' said. "From the looks of it, it seems they're getting their revenge through her. We have to get them before they do give her powers. Once they do, they'll make her evil!"

"Crap," was all I could say.

"Let's get over there quick!" 'Luke' told us. "We have no time!"

We were literally running as fast as we can, and I thought that I would pass out. Spending half of Christmas day running wasn't as fun as it should've sounded. When we did get to the trees, I stared in horror. None of them had knobs anymore, and they were all locked, too.

"What the-" 'Johnny' began to say. "This is ridiculous!"

"Wait a minute," 'Greg' thought aloud. "Crystal, do you still have Jack's key?"

"Yeah, of course," I replied, pulling it out of my pocket. "I'm not going to lose it in one day!"

"Try getting in there with it," he told me.

I then tried to put the key in the lock provided, but it was no use.

"Do we have to run back now?" I asked.

"We can't," 'Nathan' said. "I think we're _all_ tired."

"What now?" I asked them.

"Just hope that they won't make her _too_ evil and it won't happen today!" 'Fred' told us. "We don't even know if that's what they're using her for!"

The guys then turned back into their normal form, knowing there's no use. We had never run into a situation like this before.

"Will the doors at the mansion work?" Sarah asked.

"We could try that," Emma added.

"Will it?" I joined in, questioning it myself.

"There's only one way to find out," Jeff told us. "I mean, couldn't hurt to try, right?"

"I'm not even sure myself," Slendy told us. "I mean if it does work, then we might be able to stop this…"

"So we're going to run all the way back?" Fern asked.

"Nah," I answered. "I'm too tired. I feel like I need to be carried…"

"I'll take the pleasure…" Slendy joked.

"I'm just joking," I told him.

"Same here," he said back.

We started to walk, and I did feel extremely tired. As we were all walking, I was literally gasping for air. That's when everything went black and I lost memory of what just happened. When I woke up, Slendy was literally carrying me.

"Ah, what the heck?" I said as I rubbed my head. "What happened?"  
"I don't think you were joking when you said you were tired," Jeff told me. "We're almost at the house anyways, so we'll just drop you off on the porch…"

"Wait, what?" I wondered.

"You heard me," he said, and kept looking where he was going.

"Wait, he seriously doesn't mean it, does he?" I asked.

I didn't get an answer back on that one, and I just took it as a joke. When we did reach the house, I asked again.

"You're seriously not going to drop me, are you?" I asked again.

When we did reach the porch, I felt myself being picked up and thrown. I screamed for my life, and then the feeling stopped. I had my eyes shut, of course, so I had to open them to see what the heck happened. I seemed to be in mid air, and as if something was attached to me and holding me down.

"Um, Slendy, is she suppose to have that?" I heard Jeff ask him.

"Um, yeah, I have no idea," was the answer Jeff received.

"That's sick," I heard Ben say.

"It's unusual," L.J. replied.

I turned my head to see what was attached to my back. It seemed to be these blue things coming out of my back. They looked like they were covered in crystals, since they were jagged and almost clear. I went to touch one, but they all disappeared and I landed on the porch with a thud.

"What the heck?" was all I could say.

"Must be a new power," Sarah said. "They looked like giant crystals coming out of your back."

"Try doing it again," Emma told me. "Maybe we should throw her again."

"You guys aren't throwing me again!" I yelled. "That's a horrible idea. Why would you put me in danger again!"

I felt my emotions run out, and I felt the things appear again on my back. They then began to shoot out, and grab ahold of Emma. She screamed as she struggled to get free, and I began to get scared of these things. They then disappeared, and I felt so bad for Emma.

"I couldn't control them," I stumbled to say, scared to death of what just happened. "It's like they have a mind of their own…"

"And it's like they took over you, too," Jeff told me. "Your eyes went red and you started to laugh like crazy…"

"I didn't mean to do it," I said. "They just-"

"We get it," Slendy cut me off. "The real question is, what the heck made them appear…"

We all stood there, questioning this. I tried to keep myself calm, since it seems like the things come out through emotion. I then came up with a crazy idea.

"You guys got to rip them out," I told them. "Or at least one of them. If I make them appear, will one of you do it?"

"Are you crazy?" Ben asked me. "Isn't that going to hurt?"  
"Hurting my friends is more painful then ripping something out of my back," I replied. "Now, who the heck's going to do it?"

"We all can," Sarah answered. "No reason why we can't."

"Alright," I sighed. "On the count of three. One… Two…"

I squeezed my eyes shut, thinking about things to upset me. I then got my mind on Rocky when he went totally insane, and what he did to my parents. I then thought of the house burning down, and the pain began to grow.

"THREE!"

I felt the rush of pain go through me, and I knew the crystal things have come out of my back. I then felt nothing, and I knew I had no control any more.

**Chapter Twenty-One**

_The Dangerous Power_

I felt like the darkness was surrounding me for about an hour, when really it was only for a minute or two. I then felt my eyes open by themselves, and I knew that I now have complete control. I saw nothing but the porch at first, and then I saw my friends, all holding one of the crystal things in their hands. The thing was dead, but it still looked deadly.

"Did everything go okay?" I asked them.

"Besides you loosing your mind, everything went fine," Slendy told me. "Now, to find out what the heck this thing is…"  
I looked at the giant crystal-like 'arm' that was held in his hand, and I lightly touched it. It felt like a giant crystal, and it was sharp, too. They all dragged it in, and they began to look at it. I watched as Jeff took his kitchen knife and cut the thing open.

"Do you know what this is, guys?" Jeff asked us, looking at the now chopped-up thing.

"What?" we all asked him simultaneously.

"I think it's a tentacle," he answered.

"A crystallized tentacle?" I asked curiously.

"Why, yes, it is," Ben said, poking at the thing on the table.

"Is this part of being the blue Proxy?" I asked.

"Who knows," Slendy answered me. "But one thing I do know is that this is very deadly. These things can kill, that's for sure…"

"Kill?" I asked, surprised and scared. "Can we rip the rest out then?"  
"We couldn't," Jeff told me. "We tried, but they wouldn't come out!"

"So, how can I get rid of them?" I asked.

"That's the problem," Slendy said. "I don't think you can get rid of them."

"Then what am I suppose to do? Not let my emotions get out of hand?"  
"That would be my advice," he told me. "Unless you ant to kill people."  
"You know my answer to that one," I told him. "I am not going to kill someone just to keep these from controlling me."

"Maybe there's a way for you to keep your emotions down," Jeff replied. "You know, like a potion or something?"  
"Maybe," Sarah joined in. "Unless there's another way to do it…"

"I'm not going into therapy," I told her. "If that's what you're thinking."

"Oh, heavens no!" she said back. "I think it's a lot easier if there was some technique for you to control it."

"You know what, there might actually be," Jeff told us. "I've heard of something before. What's it called now… um… some type of treatment… anyways; it was supposed to make you calm. Maybe if I can find that witch again…"

"We're not going back to her," Slendy told him. "I couldn't stand her. She's really a snob…"

"Sounds like our old guidance counselor," I laughed. "She seemed like she didn't even want to deal with kids…"

"Oh, , I remembered her. We used to call her the Grinch. She was a total snob," Emma remembered. "I remember how none of us wanted to go to her at all."

"So, what's this again about the technique?" Sarah interrupted us.

"Right, yes," Jeff answered. "That's what I mean by going back to that witch. She knows it well, and Slendy knows where she is, right?"

"I'm not going to her," he answered. "Last time I went, I almost got stuck in my disguise. You know how annoying that is?"  
"Oh, right," Jeff said, remembering. "Almost all of us did."

"Wait, what do you mean by 'all of us'?" I asked Jeff.

"I mean that all of us Creepy pastas in this room went up to her to get some stupid shard or something, and she scammed us," he told me.

"Oh, yeah, I remembered that," L.J. said. "Some crystal shard that was worth a billion dollars. Jeff did steal it from her, too, and-"

"Wait, you stole the shard?" Ben interrupted. "Where the heck is it?"

"I hid it in the one bedroom," Jeff said. "Which… happens… to be… Crystal's room…"

"So, you're saying that the shard was in my room?" I asked him. "Is that why I have these tentacles coming out of my back?"

"I think so," he stumbled. "No… hard… feelings?"  
"I'm going to kill you!" I screamed at him. "Do you know what I have to deal with now? This is terrible! Oh, if only Gemm were here, she-"

I stopped myself. _Oh, great_ my mind said. _We completely forgot about Gemm! Forget this problem, for Gemm is in danger!_

"Oh, great," I sarcastically said. "We forgot about her! Let's forget about this problem and go find her!"

"But we can't, remember?" Emma told me. "They locked us out! We have to wait!"

"You're right," I sighed. "We shall go tomorrow, I suppose. Anyways, maybe we should leave this whole thing for later. I'm tired as heck, and I need some sleep…"

"Same here," Sarah yawned. "It's like, what? 8:00 at night? I need some sleep…"

That's when we escorted the girls and the other guys out, and I headed strait for my bed. I then took the time to look around my room for that shard, and I found it under my bed. I then grabbed it, taking it out of it's hiding spot and wanting to break it, but as I held on to the shard, my tentacles started to come out. I then dropped the shard, leaving it under the bed until the next morning. I then crawled into my bed, and fell instantly to sleep, or so I hoped I would. I woke up from the sound of tapping, and I realized it was already passed midnight. I looked around, hoping to find where the noise was coming from. I then followed the sound right to the Proxy Mice, and I found Chestnut on the desk looking into something.

"Chestnut?" I whispered to the little mouse. "What're you doing up?"

"This is bad," the little mouse murmured. "This is very bad. It can't be true!"

"What?" I asked him. "What is it?"  
"Come look at this, Crystal," he said. "Look into this globe…"

"Whoa," I said. "A real magic globe. I didn't know you had this!"

"That's because I just found this," he told me. "But look into it. It's horrible. So very, very horrible…"

I tried to look into the little globe, and I saw the most horrible vision ever. There, I saw my hometown almost burned to the ground, and filled with traumatized dead people. There were also a lot of animals for some reason, and then I saw the most horrific thing ever. I saw Zimmy, but half of him was robotic and he had the devilish grin on his face. Gemm was flying in the sky, controlling all the traumatized people. I then saw myself carrying Slendy in my arms, who happens to be paralyzed, and Jack in his disguise, but he was warrior like and had a sword in one hand, ready to fight. The vision then went away in the ball, and I stared at Chestnut in disbelief.

"But… but that can't be…" I stumbled to say. "This can't be…"

"Bu, alas, these are only things that might happen," the mouse told me. "These visions are the most possible outcome…"

"How do I prevent this?"

"You can't prevent it," he said. "Nobody can. You just have to let fait guide you…"

"Why are you telling me these things?" I asked him.

"Because," he glared at me. "You're the blue Proxy, so you're the only one who can solve this problem if it ever happens."

"This is terrible," I said. "Is there anything else that I should know or do?"  
"Take the potions I gave you," was all he said.

"Why?" I asked, but I received no answer.

I then walked out of the room and lay back in my bed. I then fell asleep again, that is, until I realized something. _Where the heck is Zimmy?_ My mind questioned. _I haven't seen him for a while…_ I then got out of bed, almost starting to look for him. I then stopped, deciding that sleep was more important right now. I crawled back under the covers, trying to go to sleep. I couldn't help but think of the visions Chestnut showed me. My mind questioned back and forth about if they really are coming true and what happened if they did come true. I thought of these things until I thought I felt something poking me awake.

"Get the heck up already," the voice said. "I can't believe you're even a heavy sleeper…"

I turned my head to see 'Nathan' jabbing his finger into my face.

"'Nathan', what the heck?" I sleepily asked.

"Wake up call," he told me. "Get out of bed. We have pancakes…"

"What's with the disguise?" I asked.

"I need it for when we go to get Gemm," he told me. "C'mon, Jeff made pancakes…"

"So, wait, you're in disguise, but Jeff isn't?" I asked him. "You're going to get stuck like that one day and never come out of it…"

"If that dang witch makes me almost stuck like this, then I'll punch the crap out of her," he joked.

"You're going to punch a woman?" I asked. "Even an elderly woman? You're sick…"

"She's a snob, that's all I have to say. Now get up."

"Fine," I moaned, wiggling out of the covers.

"I'll just save you time and pull you out…"

"Oh, no you're not!" I said.

"Oh, yes I am!" he told me, and grabbed my hand.

"No, no, no, no, no…" I chanted, pulling away my hand.

I gave out a playful shriek, laughing my butt off. He did pull me out of bed, and we were laughing. I have to admit, though, the disguise helps get that awkwardness out of my mind, since things still feel weird after my confession. I then remembered the shard, and told him about it.

"So, when you grab it, the tentacles come out?" he asked.

"Yeah," I told him. "I can show you where it is. Just turn tiny and I'll show you."

"Do you prefer tiny Slendy, or tiny 'Nathan'?" he asked.

"Really?" I asked. "You're asking me this?"

"I never know with you," he joked.

"Hmmmmmm… I guess tiny Slendy…"

"Ditto," he said, and turned into exactly that. "C'mon, show me where it is!"

I then joined him, turning into my tiny self and joining him. I then lead the way, finding the shard in no time at all.

"Is this really worth giving up pancakes?" he asked me.

"Do you want me to kill someone or not?" I said.

"Good point," he answered. "Anyways, let me get this…"

He took his tiny tentacles and grabbed the shard, holding it high in the air. I then noticed the effect t had on him, as the shard was turning the tentacles into crystals.

"Uh, Slendy…" I squeaked. "You're tentacles…"

"Huh?" he said.

He then realized what I meant and dropped the shard right away. The two of us just stared at this thing, wondering how the heck we were going to get it out from under my bed.

"Maybe we should roll it?" I thought. "Or have some type of gloves…"

"The glove thing will work," he answered. "But we still should be careful."

"Now, were would the gloves be?" I wondered out loud. "Or maybe we should find cloth to wrap the shard in…"

I ran out from under the bed and headed to the closet. After searching for a minute, I finally found my old scarf that was almost to shreds. I then grabbed the end and tugged a bit, just enough to get it out of the box that it was in. when it fell out, I began to drag it out from the closet and under the bed.

"Okay," I squeaked. "Will this do?"

"Should work," he said. "I don't see why not."

We both took one end of the scarf and began to wrap the shard in it. When it was fully wrapped, we then began to start rolling it. We did get it from out under the bed, and I realized the scarf was becoming engulfed in crystals. When the scarf's dusty-brown color was replaced with the pale blue of crystals, the two of us started to brainstorm again.

"Do you have more scarfs?" Slendy asked me.

"Besides really expensive ones, I don't really have any," I answered.

"Maybe Jeff has something," he thought out loud.

"Maybe," I said. "Let's get him quick. We can't leave this on the floor without someone coming to pick it up…"

The two of us changed back into our normal heights, and went to find Jeff. I knew right were to look for him: the kitchen. That's the last place Slendy saw him. I was right, and we found him shoving pancakes in his mouth.

"See," Slendy whispered to me. "The pancakes…"

"Later," I whispered back to him.

"Where the heck have you guys been?" Jeff asked us. "What? Doing stuff without me?"

"No," I replied back. "We simply need your help. I found the shard in my room, and we were wondering if you have any type of cloth…"

"Wait, hold on," he said. "You said at first that you found the shard, then you ask me for cloth? How do those two things go together?"

"Because we can't touch the shard," I told him. "It turns everything into crystals!"

"Oh," was his reply. "Well, in that case, I might have something…"

He got up from the table, and ran back into his room. It was only minutes later that he came back out with an old graphic tee in his hands. The shirt was really, really old, with a navy-blue color and with the words 'YOUR TURN' on it.

"What the heck does 'Your Turn' mean?" I asked.

"It was a band," he said. "Actually, the band never really got famous. That's why I had to get rid of this thing…"

He threw the shirt at me, only for it to be caught in my hands. I could tell it hadn't been worn in years, and not been washed, either. It smelled like rotten fish, and it was just disgusting.

"Ew," I said, holding the shirt barely with my two fingers. "Smells like fish paste…"

"The reason I'm giving it to you guys," he told us. "Have fun…"

"Oh, no your not," I told him. "You're helping us. We need an extra set of hands…"

"But… but…" Jeff stumbled. "My pancakes…"

"If you help me with this," I told the two guys. "Then I'll make waffles."

"Fine," both of them said.

As we headed back into my room, I began to wrap the shirt around the shard. I then had Jeff run with it and take it out to the backyard. He then dropped it on the ground from almost having his hands turn into crystals.

"Okay, what now?" Slendy asked me.

"Bury it!" I shouted. "Bury it or shatter it! One of the two…"

"Do you even know how much this is worth?" Jeff asked me. "A billion dollars! We could be rich! Think of what we can do with that type of money!"

"So, sell it?" Slendy asked him.

"Uh, heck yes!" Jeff answered. "What else to do? We'll split the money up, and then we could all get what we want!"

"But who do we sell it to?" I asked them.

"Sell it back to the witch?" Jeff thought.

"Nah, she's not going to take it back," I told him. "Plus, I think Slendy would rather die then go to her…"

"Well, I wouldn't say _die_, but among the lines," Slendy corrected.

"Then to the museum?" I asked.

"Maybe," Jeff answered. "They would know what to do…"

"Give me that," I heard a voice say, and I saw my little black cat come from out of the bushes.

"And where the heck have you been?" I asked Zimmy.

"I'll answer that later," he answered. "Right now, we got to drop everything and get to Halloweentown. Gemm's in complete danger."

"Oh, crap," I exclaimed. "I completely forgot! Wow, I feel like a bad person now…"

"Forget the shard," Jeff told us. "Let's get to my GF! She's more important than this!"

As the guys changed into their disguises, I thought about how the heck we were going to get Gemm out of this mess. When the guys were ready, I told them that we should make a plan.

"A plan?" 'Nathan' asked. "I will think of a plan once we get there."

"Alright," I told him. "But if it fails, this is all on you!"

We began to walk down, when 'Nathan' stopped us.

"Oh, what now?" 'Greg' asked.

"As I was thinking of a plan," he told us. "I realized we're going to need everyone."

"Everyone?" I asked. "Like, our whole group?"

"Exactly," he answered. "So, let's grab everyone and get going. 'Greg' and I will go get the other guys while you and 'Ricky' get the girls. Clear?"

"Clear!" the three of us said simultaneously.

That's when we broke apart, and I decided to get Jewel first. We headed over to her house, and the whole time, I felt like something was wrong.

"Hey, 'Ricky'," I asked the boy next to me. "Where were you?"

"I told you, I will clear that up later," he said. "Not right now, okay?"

The tone in his voice was different, as if he were annoyed with something. I knew something was clearly different with him, but what.

"Hey, is everything alright with you?" I asked him. "Sounds like something's wrong."

"Everything's fine, okay?" he answered, sounding annoyed with me. "What? You think I'm not the same?"

"Okay," I told him. "You're not the 'Ricky' I knew…"

"What makes you think that?" he said in a low, demonic voice.

"Uh, 'Ricky'?"

That's when I knew I was with a complete stranger, and I began to get scared.

"What's wrong with your voice?" I asked him. "You never talk like this."

"Let's just get to Jewel's house," he told me. "Then, I must go again…"  
"Why?"

"Because, I just need to…"

I gave him an odd look, and then shook the thought out of my head. We reached Jewels house, and I saw he out in the backyard.

"Oh, Crystal, 'Ricky'!" she called. "Need help with something?"

"We need help with your sister," I told her. "She got kidnapped yesterday, but we couldn't get to her then. Will you join us?"

"Of course!" she shouted back.

She hopped over the fence, and joined me by my side. She then began to look around in confusion.

"Hey, where'd 'Ricky' go?" she asked.

**Chapter Twenty-Two**

_Gemm the Powerful_

"I don't know," I answered back. "But I'm quite glad he's gone."

"Why's that?" Jewel asked me.

"Because he's not the same anymore. He's different now, but I don't know why…"

"That's a shame," she told me. "I was just starting to get to know him so well."

"The point is," I told her. "I think he's hiding something. But what?"

"Beats me," she answered. "But anyways, what are we doing now?"

"Getting the other girls," I told her. "We're heading back to Halloweentown, but it's for a greater reason this time…"

"We're already heading back?" she asked me. "But we were just there two days ago!"

"Hey, not my fault your sister got kidnapped," I replied. "If you get Fern, I'll grab Sarah and Emma. They told me they were going to be at the hideout. Fern should be at her house. If you meet me back at the trees, do you think you can handle this?"

"I don't see why not," she giggled. "See ya later…"

We then departed, and I headed over to the hideout. It only took me a couple of minutes to get there, and I found the two right away.

"Oh, hey Crystal," Emma greeted. "What's up?"

After two minutes of explaining, they gladly agreed to help out. The three of us then headed to the trees, where I found Jewel and Fern already there.

"Okay, the guys should be here any minute," I told them. "They're coming back with your BF's anyways…"

"So, do we have a plan?" Fern asked me.

"I don't know," I answered. "'Nathan' was coming up with that."

"They're in their disguises?" Sarah said. "Why's that?"  
"I'm not exactly sure," I replied. "I think it's for the best with these new villains…"

"New villains?" they all asked at once.

"You'll see what I mean. You'll know the sack man, or Oogie as you guys call him. Mark and Ruby are new ones that come from Foxadore and Prowler's world."

"Hey, aren't the two supposed to be here now?" Emma asked.

"They're celebrating the holidays with their families," I answered. "So they couldn't come here right away…"

"Do you think Jack's going to help us?" Jewel asked me. "You said that 'Nathan' wanted the whole group…"

"I think he might," I replied. "But I'm not so sure if that's what he wants in the plan."

"Do you think the new villains have a plan?" Sarah asked.

"Of course they do, silly," Emma answered her. "Why wouldn't they?"  
"Good point," Fern commented.

"Anyways," I said to break up the conversation. "I think the Proxy hunters are a part of this, too. I saw them talking to Ruby when we went to visit Foxadore's place. This mission could be extremely dangerous…"

"Oh, don't worry, Crystal," Sarah told me. "Danger is all of our middle names!"

"I don't really know if it is," I laughed. "If it were, you'd be doing parkour all the time."

"That's one thing I'd like to learn," Fern said. "It seems like so much fun."

"Okay, where the heck are they," I muttered. "Maybe they wanted us to meet somewhere else?"

"Why don't you urn into a bird and check the surroundings," Emma told me. "You're wearing the crystal, aren't you?"  
"Oh, right," I said, and I changed into a simple hawk.

"That's it, Crystal," Fern said. "Now, go find them!"  
I took flight into the pale sky, and started to search for the others. I was almost about to give up hope, until I saw something unusual. I flew down a bit, just to see what it was. I found a small tree to perch myself on, and watched the three shadows coming through the clearing.

"Now, you know what to do?" a gruff voice said.

"I think so," another one answered. "We hunt down the girl, then we get her in the same position as her friend is! I'm glad we waited until today to give her the powers, since it's no fun without a good fight…"

"But, the easier it is, the more success you have," the third voice told the second.

Two figures came out of the clearing, and I was surprised to see that they were Gus and Bruce. They were talking to someone, but whom?  
"Oh, and make sure the girl uses all her powers," Gus told the new recruit.

"Oh, I will," the rookie answered. "I'll make sure that she'll never have powers ever again!"

I gasped, and I wish I hadn't, for they had heard me. In panic, I flew away as the villains began to search their surroundings for eavesdroppers. I was relived when I had finally found the guys coming up to the trees. I flew down, and landed right on 'Nathan's' shoulder.

"Oh, hey Crystal," he said. "What? We're taking to long?"  
"Uh, yeah!" I answered. "We were waiting for a long time! I thought something was wrong!"

"Well, nothing is," 'Greg' told me.

"Actually, you're wrong," I commented.

"What now?" 'Luke' asked. "We're out of waffles?"

"This is serious!" I told them. "The Proxy hunters are in the woods! They have a new recruit, and he seems to be coming after me!"

"Oh, this is not good," 'Nathan' said with a worried look on his face. "We better get to Halloweentown, and fast. If we grab Foxadore and Prowler right away, we might be able to stop them…"

"Then what are we waiting for?" 'Johnny' asked. "We got to go get them!"  
"Can you turn into something that'll carry us all and get there fast?" 'Greg' asked.

"All I can think of is a dragon, will that do?" I wondered out loud.

"That's fine," 'Nathan' conformed. "Just do it, now!"

I got of his shoulder and changed into a small dragon. The new disguise was just big enough to get all the guys on, but small enough so we could stay hidden.

"Alright, get on," I told them. "And hold on tight!"

After I had all of them climbed on my back, I flew off fast and to the trees. When I found the original location where I left the other girls, I flew down and shook everyone off my back. I then changed back to my human form, and we started to run for the trees. We found the right door, and frantically opened it.

"Ladies first," 'Greg' joked, and I literally jumped into the darkness.

After falling for a couple of minutes, I was joined by the others.

"Get to the tree house," 'Nathan' told the group. "Crystal and I will fetch Jack. Now go, and hurry!"

The others looked at us in understandment, and they ran off towards the huge tree house, with 'Greg' in the lead.

"Okay, now to get Jack," he told me. "He'll be surprised to see us back, huh?"

"We could also get Foxadore and Prowler, too," I told him.

"Whomever we find first," he commented. "C'mon, we got to go!"

We began to head the opposite direction of the others, towards town. We were running so fast that I almost tripped over a gravestone in the cemetery. We just reached the gate when we found Prowler shutting it behind himself.

"You guys are back already?" he asked us. "What? Need to borrow something?"

"No," I rushed to say. "It's Gemm, one of our friends. Someone kidnapped her and probably brought her here. Where's Jack?"

"He went down to chase after some girl that was dragged down to the tree house," the wolf answered.

"Oh, good," 'Nathan' said. "He's already there. Then where's the fox?"

"Foxadore went with him," Prowler replied. "What, you need me, too?"

"Yep," I answered. "And we got to go, like, NOW!"  
"Well, I wasn't doing anything important, so I guess I can join…" the wolf joked.

"C'mon, we got to go!" I told the two, and started to run towards the tree house. "You guys coming?"

"Do we have a choice?" Prowler asked.

We didn't even have to answer that one, for he was joining us already. We started to run away from town now and down to the giant tree house. We already caught up with the others, who were running just as fast as we were.

"That didn't take you long," 'Greg' commented. "Where are Jack and Foxadore?"

"They're already there," I answered. "Can you guys run any slower? C'mon, we got to go!"

I was already leading the group, and I was running so fast that I was way ahead. When I did reach the giant tree, I found where we crawled down before. I began to latch on to the side, when 'Nathan' caught up and joined me.

"Just be very quite," he whispered to me. "One loud noise, and we're done for!"

By the time we reached the little window that let us see in, the others were starting to climb down. I could see Gemm hooked up to some type of table, Foxadore fighting Ruby and Mark, while Jack was taking on the sack man. I then watched as Prowler went ahead of us to join them, and he accompanied Foxadore as he held off Mark with his snow powers.

"Should we join the fight?" I asked 'Nathan'.

"Let me enter the scene," he told me. "I'll give the signal for you to come."

"And, that signal is?" I asked.

"When I say 'now', got it?"

"Got it," I repeated.

He then slid down the wall and snuck into the place. I watched as he went over the table to break Gemm free. The others then came down with me and watched as well. I told them to wait for the signal, and they understood. 'Nathan' was so close to breaking Gemm out, when Mark looked over his shoulder and saw him.

"INTRUDER!" Mark yelled.

"NOW!" 'Nathan' called to us.

"Let's go guys!" I told the group, and we slid down the walls.

"So, you brought a whole army, huh?" the sack man said to Jack. "Well, they're no match for us…"

"We'll see about that!" I called to the villain.

I started to throw fire at him, but he dodged my every move. Before I knew it, I felt something tackle me to the ground. I look up to see a small, black cat meowing at me.

"Zimmy? ZIMMY!" I called to the cat.

I went to pick him up, but the cat slashed me in the arm.

"Ow, what the heck?" I cried, clenching my cut-up arm. "What you do that for?"

The cat looked at me with devilish eyes, and I knew something was terribly wrong. I shook the cat off me, knowing that they did something to my poor cat.

"What'd you do to Zimmy?" I asked all three of the villains.

"What we did?" Ruby called back. "Oh, we didn't do anything. He was simply like this when we found him…"

"What?" was all I could stumble out.

"All part of the plan," the cat told me. "For you don't know _everything_ about me…"

All I could do was crawl back from my once feline friend. I couldn't believe it. How could Zimmy be so evil? Was he always like this? But, he's been so nice to me…

"Oh, let's just shoot the girl already!" Zimmy called back to the others.

That's when I heard the loud noise of a machine reeling something down from the ceiling. Coming out was a huge gun-like thing that was pointing strait at Gemm.

"No!" I cried out. "Don't shoot her!"

"Too late," Zimmy cackled over me. "You're precious Gemm is now ours…"

The machine then shot a blue laser-like thing at my best friend. She screamed in pain, and I watched in horror, along with the others. When the blue disappeared, Gemm's screams went completely silent, and so went the whole room. Silence was all it was. The only thing to end it off was the gun thing going back up into the ceiling.

"Uh, Gemm?" I heard 'Greg' say as he ran over to her. "You okay?"

Nothing. She didn't even speak a word. I ran over to the table, making sure she was still alive. She was, thank goodness, for she was heavily breathing. Why she wasn't speaking, I couldn't say. I then watched as two men started coming strait towards us. They were Proxy hunters, Gus and Bruce, and I started to back away. I pulled 'Greg' with me, knowing that something bad was about to happen.

"What the heck?" 'Greg' said to me.

"Stay back," I whispered to him. "Trust me, I think I know what I'm doing."

"You _think_ or you _know_?"

"Just stay quite and stay back…"

I watched as the men started to shove Gemm, and then sit her up. Her eyelids flickered open, and her eyes shinned a bright white light at us. She then began to float in mid-air, and her gaze fell upon us.

"Yes…" I heard the sack man say. "Now, let's see what she can do…"

"NO!" I shouted. "Don't do it!"

"Why shouldn't I?" she told me in a whimsical voice. "I finally got m powers!"

She raised her arms, and flicked them in a way to make electric sparks. She then gazed down at my friends, and looked strait at Jewel. She then shot the sparks at her sister, making the electric fly around her and push the sister back into the wall. When the blue electricity left Jewel, a little fox was left in her place.

"Run guys, RUN!" 'Greg' shouted, and pulled me back with the others.

"Where you think you're going?" Mark told us, and shut us out from the walls using some type of glass. "You're not leaving until you're all taken care of…"

"Who's next?" I heard Zimmy say in a sort of demonic voice. "How about the other girls?"

Another shot of electricity left Gemm's hand, and surrounded Sarah, Emma and Fern. When it left the three, more animals appeared. Sarah was now a little rabbit, Emma a raccoon, and Fern a chinchilla.

"Oh, no, not you guys, too," I heard the little Jewel say; as she ran over to the others in her now fox body.

"How about we take care of he others…" Ruby told the now evil Gemm.

Gemm gave a nod, and shot more electric at 'Fred', 'Johnny', 'Luke', and 'Greg'. When it left them, they were no longer in their disguises. They looked at us with sharp eyes, and I could tell exactly what happened to them from my experiences.

"Mind controlled," I whispered.

How I knew exactly what it was, I don't really know. I watched as the four started to come towards us. I then back up towards Jack and 'Nathan', who were the only ones left.

"What now?" I asked them.

"Got any ideas?" Jack asked us.

"Hold on…" 'Nathan' answered, as he began to bang against the glass.

"Better join in," I replied, and I began to bang as well.

With the three of us doing this, the glass broke, and we made a quick escape.

"You're not getting away so easily!" I heard Zimmy call after us.

Soon enough, the girls, who were now animals, came running up to us, and the mind-controlled friends were coming after us.

"C'mon guys," 'Nathan' told us. "We can't hurt them, but we can't let them get to us. Best to get back to the house…"

"My house?" Jack asked.

"No, the mansion. I suspect Foxadore and Prowler are going to be brainwashed as well…"

"No," a voice said, and the two came out after us. "We're right here!"

"Come on," Prowler said. "To the platform, now!"

As the two lead us, I carried the other animals as we ran. As Fern and Sarah sat on my shoulders, Emma was on my head and Jewel was in my arms. When we did reach the platform, we quickly got on. The white light flashed on us, and we were back in no time at all.

"Don't worry," Foxadore told us. "Only we can activate it. We should still be cautious, though…"

We headed back to the house, and Jack changed into his disguise for safety reasons. When we were all back, I just began to question everything that happened.

"What the heck is with Zimmy going evil?" I asked out loud. "Was he always like this?"

"I don't know," 'Nathan' answered. "Could be something completely new."

"What should we do now?" I wondered. "Should we search for an answer? Maybe we should go to the witch…"

"I don't think we need her help," 'Nathan' told me. "She'll give no help at all…"

"Then…" I tried to think of more ideas, but I drew a blank in my mind. "Oh, I don't know. It's hopeless…"

I sat back down on the couch with a thud, tinking of anything that could be worse. _We have to find a solution,_ I thought. _Think, THINK! There has to be something to get this right! Maybe there's a place we could go, and we could get there fast, since I still have the key…_ I then went to reach into the pocket of my jeans to fetch the magical gift, but struck in horror when I couldn't find anything. I then switched to the next pocket, and still nothing yet. I then stood up and checked the back pockets. I ran over to the coat, and checked those pockets, too.

"Oh, no…" I gasped. "The key… IT'S GONE!"

**Chapter Twenty-Three**

_Could Anything be Worse than This_

"You lost it?" 'Nathan' asked me in total shock. "Are you sure you did?"

"I couldn't have lost it!" I shrieked. "Nothing can come out of these pockets without me taking it out. I even fixed the pockets that way so that nothing would fall out!"  
"Then there's only one explanation for this," he said. "Magic. There has to be magic involved with this loss. Any minute now, they could be knocking at our door, waiting for our doom…"

"Well, there goes my idea," I sighed. "I thought there could be some place we could go to get this fixed…"

"Maybe there is, Crystal," Jack told me. "She might be onto something…"

"It's not the witch, is it?" 'Nathan' asked. "Please, please don't tell me it's her…"

"Nope," Jack answered. "Better yet. If we could just get back to town without being seen…"

"Disguises?" I wondered out loud. "We could try that, but with them having magic, we could be spotted easily."

"We just have to use fire against fire," 'Nathan' told us. "If we use our own magic, then we can use that as a shield from theirs. Crystal, why don't you grab those Proxy Mice, and be quick!"

"Gotcha!" I replied.

I ran to my room and into the small workroom with the cases. The mice were asleep, but it only took myself to wake Chestnut up, and then he awoke the others. With all 12 of them riding my shoulders, I could carry them back easily and quickly. When I did get them all back to the other room, I sat them on the table in front of our small couch.

"That was fast," 'Nathan' told me. "But never mind that, I need Prince Chestnut up in front…"

The little mouse ran up to him, glaring at the boy with the button eyes.

"I'm here, sir," he said. "What can I do?"

"Do you still have the potions?" 'Nathan' asked the little mouse.

"Yes, I do," Chestnut replied. "I gave some to Crystal as well…"

"Can you two grab them for me?" 'Nathan' asked us.

"We shall," Chestnut replied.

I then followed the mouse back into the bedroom so that I may retrieve the tiny jars of the magic liquid and help carry some that the Prince had. When we came back in with all of them, 'Nathan' asked the Prince to identify each one of the phials. When the mouse completed this task, I then realized I had forgotten one small bottle left under the bed. After retrieving this, Chestnut identified it right away.

"It's a disguise potion," the Prince told us. "Drink this, and you'll be some type of animal for an hour or so. This is what you'll need for the trip, I suppose…"

"The hour will be plenty to find her," Jack said. "Though, I might have to break the disguise to get the help."

"And who are you seeing again?" 'Nathan' asked his cousin.

"You'll see," he responded. "It's not too important now…"

"Should we leave now?" I asked. "Before they come here?"

"Actually," 'Nathan' answered. "We should go when they _get_ here. This way they'll be out of the town and it'll be easier for us to get in."

"And when will they be out?" I asked him.

"Defiantly by tomorrow," he said. "That's when they'll all be out, and we can move in."

"Sounds like a plan," I told him. "I guess I should get something to eat, for I haven't eaten all morning."

"You still owe me waffles," 'Nathan' joked. "I guess you can make them now…"

So, as you can guess, I had to make breakfast and reheat the pancakes that Jeff had already made that morning. When we were all finally full, I realized that I should check on the girls that are now cute little creatures. I was just about to go grab them, when the doorbell rang and I got to answer it. I wasn't too surprised to see the wolf and winged fox at the door to greet.

"It's messed up back there," Foxadore said. "You guys aren't going back, are ya?"

"Sadly, yes," I answered. "We kind of have to. They stole my key using some type of magic, so now they can get out of there and come here in a flash. They'll be here by tomorrow, definitely."

"So, you guys need any help?" Prowler asked.

"Well, I was just going to check up on the girls," I told them. "I might need help there, if you guys don't mind…"

"Not at all," Foxadore said. "We'd be bored if we didn't help."

"Well, okay then," I replied.

We walked back into another room where I had put the four girls in. Sarah and Emma were having a bit of fun, while Fern was holding off Jewel from eating everyone, since Jewel was the only carnivore in the room.

"Okay, Jewel," I said to the little fox. "Let's put you somewhere else… or… maybe these two can watch over you…"

I place her on the couch, and the other two boys ran up to her to keep her controlled.

"I couldn't control myself," she told us. "It's like they made me completely wild!"

"Same with the rest of us," the little rabbit called. "I now have a craving for carrots!"

"Poor Sarah," I said. "I know how much you hate carrots!"

"So, how are we going to fix this?" the little chinchilla asked me.

"Jack, 'Nathan' and I are going back to the town tomorrow," I answered her. "Jack somehow knows someone who can help us, or might…"

"I hope this gets fixed," the raccoon said. "I don't want to be stuck like this forever!"

"Me neither!" Sarah joined her. "I want to be normal so I can get back with Ben, who's now brainwashed…"

"You'll be back with your BF once we fix this," I told her. "It might be a while…"

"And what's with Gemm wanting powers?" Fern thought out loud. "Well, I just hope she's happy with the ones she has now!"

"It's not her fault," Emma joined in. "I would be a bit upset to if I were the only one in the group without powers or something extra-ordinary…"

"No wonder she hung out with us," Sarah said. "She didn't want to be the only one powerless."

"Oh, great," I muttered. "Now you're just making me feel bad…"

"Well, it's not your fault you have powers," Jewel told me. "Heck, it's no ones fault that you guys were able to get powers…"

"If only Jeff could give her something," I thought out loud. "Like Slendy did with me…"

"That'd be the only way she could get some regular, non-evil stuff," Emma said. "But where the heck is Jeff going to get stuff like that?"

"I hope he doesn't go to that witch alone," I muttered. "He'd be a real idiot to do so."

"The witch is probably not going to give any help," Sarah told me. "She doesn't sound like she would. It's rare to find someone Slendy doesn't like that's not like what he described…"

"That's true," I laughed. "He does know what he's talking about."

"That's why we're a bit jealous of you, Crystal," Sarah whispered to me. "You got a lucky pick. Actually, it's beyond lucky. I sometimes wish Ben were more like him, but I can't argue with sticking to who I have…"

"You're just saying that," I said, blushing.

"Uh, no, she's right," Emma joined in. "She's absolutely right. You should probably go back to him and his cousin. They both seem to want you around…"

"Well, of course," I laughed. "I mean, 'Nathan' is my BF, and I need to get to know Jack better…"

"Oh, get going," Foxadore told me. "We'll keep an eye on them for ya!"

I walked out and headed back to the two guys. We started to plan out how the heck we were going to get in without being scene. We already agreed on taking to potion after we got into the town. Next, we were going to sneak in using a special route, and Jack was going to figure that out once we get there. After we took the route, we were going to head to Jack's house so we can let the disguise wear off. When that was done, 'Nathan' and I will stay back while Jack goes out to get the person to help us and bring her back into the house.

"This sounds like a good plan," I told them. "Are we good on this?"

"I think so," 'Nathan' said, looking at the plan written on the notebook paper. "What do you think, Jack?"

"I agree with you," Jack answered. "Why wouldn't I? This is the best plan I could come up with…"

We agreed on this plan, and we decided to think about what the others should do at home during the time we are gone. The three of us headed back into the room, and we started to talk to the others about the procedures they should take when we're gone.

"Since the villains will be here," 'Nathan' told the critters. "You guys need to be super careful while we're gone. Especially Foxadore and Prowler, for they didn't do anything to you guys yet."

"What should we do?" Prowler asked him.

"Get to the basement," was his reply. "Board up the doors, but let the hatch to the roof open."

"Why that one open?" Foxadore asked.

"In case we need to get in somehow," 'Nathan' answered. "Crystal has the necklace with her at all times, so she'll be able to fly us up there, somehow…"

"But doesn't Gemm fly now?" Jewel asked. "She could get in…"

"She won't be hunting you guys down if you're avoiding her," I answered. "She's only after people who get in her way and are easy to get!"

"Makes sense," Sarah said. "But are you sure that's what we should do? Hide in the basement and make sure only the roof hatch is open?"

"Yes," 'Nathan' answered. "Unless you want more things to happen to ya…"

"No, no," she said. "I don't want to die!"

"That's what I thought," he joked.

As we began to start chatting, I thought I heard a slight noise coming from the front of the house. It wasn't loud, but it was surely a scratching sound. I finally put a hand up to my ear to signal everyone to keep quiet.

"You hear something?" 'Nathan' asked me.

"Yeah," I answered. "Or, at least I thought I did…"

"Should someone answer the door?" Prowler wondered.

"If anyone's going to answer, it has to be me," I told them.

"But you're a target," Jack said. "You can't possibly go alone…"

"At least I still have my powers," I said back. "I can use them if I need to."

"She's got a point," Emma told us. "And besides, she's the only real 'normal' person at the moment, so we don't have much choice. Crystal, open the door, and we should go hide just incase…"

"Alright guys," I said. "Do what Emma says, I'm going to check the door."

As I was walking into the next room, I even started to hear the doorbell ring. I then rushed to the door, only to be surprised to see the one person I didn't want to see for a long, long time.

**Chapter Twenty-Four**

_Nothing's Normal Anymore_

"Zack?" I asked. "What the heck are you doing here?"

"Oh, you've been living **here**?" he asked back. "I thought you went off to an orphanage millions of miles away."

"Oh, ha, ha," I sarcastically said. "But, seriously, what are you doing here?"

"I'm looking for someone," he told me. "Is there anyone here name Jack? I'm looking for him to bring back with me…"

I started to have my mind race with excuses. He can't possibly want Jack for something good. I then came up with a nice little trick to get Zack away from us.

"Are you looking for a Jack with white hair, blue eyes, and pale skin?" I asked. "Who's also really slim?"  
"YEAH!" Zack shouted in excitement. "That's who I'm looking for!"

"Then you just missed him," I lied. "He went out to get something at the store. You can search for him there. Actually, search every store that you can! Don't be afraid to rip the whole place apart, for he'll be hiding since he's shy."

"Oh, well, in that case," he said. "I better get started. I'll be back if I can't find him…"

"Oh, you will," I laughed. "For he's definitely not here!"

He then left, heading for the first store that he can. I head back to the others, who were cowering in the basement (big surprise there).

"It's okay guy," I told them. "He's gone."

"So, who was at the door?" 'Nathan' asked me.

"It was Zack," I replied. "He wanted Jack for some reason…"

"So, what'd you tell him?" Jack asked. "You must've come up with something good."

"Oh, did I ever!" I laughed. "I told him that you were at the store getting stuff, and I said to rip up the whole place to look for you! I told him to do that with every store!"

"Ha!" 'Nathan' said. "That is good! It should keep him busy for a while."

"But now we can't stay here," Foxadore told us. "He'll be back here soon, realizing we tricked him!"

"That is true," Prowler replied. "We must go somewhere else, but where?"

"How about the bus hideout?" I asked. "I mean, Rocky and Sunni must already be there, and we haven't seen them in forever!"

"That's a great idea," 'Nathan' complimented. "But we better hurry, for Zack could come back any minute!"

After having Foxadore and Prowler keeping an eye on the girls (that were now animals) and the other guys and I going together, we decided to let the critters go first to the place, than us. When they left, we waited a couple of minutes before we decided to head out. After five minutes have passed, we decided to head out.

"We've got to be careful," 'Nathan' said. "Let's take the back way out, just incase Zack is heading up right now."

"Good idea," I told him. "And should we take the Proxy Mice with us?"

"Nah," he answered back. "They'll be fine."

He then opened the back door, holding it wide open.

"Ladies first," he joked.

"Oh, very funny," I sarcastically said. "I don't like to be called a lady. You know this!"

I headed out the door anyways, but couldn't help but giggle a bit. I have to admit, I'm a bit of a lady, but not completely. I don't think ladies have powers, go to fights, and have monsters as best friends, do they? No, I don't think so…

"Alright, you guys coming or what?" I asked them.

"Well, who's going first?" 'Nathan' joked. "The king, or the leader?"

"I'm not really a-" Jack started to say.

Just then, 'Nathan' literally pushed him out the door, and he stumbled a bit before falling down.

"King…" he finished.

"Oh, I beg to differ," 'Nathan' kept joking.

"You can stop now," I told him. "For the leader's suppose to lead the group, not be an idiot!"

"Who's calling whom an idiot?" he asked. "I'm just joking around…"

The two of us then helped Jack up, and we started on our way. It wasn't long before we caught up to the others, who were lost and confused.

"It's this way, guys," I told them, now leading the group.

I guided them under the pine trees and into the open meadow with the huge bus sitting in the middle of it. I could tell Sunni or Rocky was home, for the sight of fresh game on the roof was clearly visible.

"Better head over," I said. "Who's going first?"

"The two of us should," 'Nathan' told me. "They know us best."

"Good point," I replied.

We then trudged through the tall grass and flowers, having the mud stick on our feet. The pattern of bare feet ran through the muck, and I could already tell which one was home. We headed up to the front of the bus, and I had to knock. The door swung open, and a young boy greeted us. His reddish hair was now a bit dusty, and his clothing ripped and tattered. His brown eyes were redder than ever, and I couldn't tell if he was crying or just tired.

"Hey, 'Kyan'," 'Nathan' greeted. "Is it okay if I bring a whole crowd in?"

"Go right ahead," the boy said. "I see you've brought some new people…"

Once all of us were in and introduce, we discussed the problem with him and told him we had to stay here for a bit.

"Oh, that's fine," he said. "We hadn't had company in a while!"

"Where's Sunni?" I asked him. "I haven't seen her in forever!"

"She's out hunting," he answered. "Yeah, once I got her on a raw diet, she became wild!"  
"Are her parents cool with this?" Jack asked.

"Her parents are millions of miles away," I told him. "They won't know…"

"Oh, weird," he replied.

I then watched as 'Kyan' began to go still, as if he was listening to something. I, too, began to hear a slight noise, like the sound of boots going through the mud. I also heard the sound of an arrow being shot from a bow, and I knew it could only mean one thing.

"Sunni's home!" 'Kyan' smiled.

The boy ran out of the bus and disappeared for a while. When he did reappear, he had a young girl with him. She was covered in a bit of dirt, and sweat beaded up on her face. Her brown hair was in messy strands under a beanie hat, and her clothes were just as tattered as 'Kyan's'.

"Hey, Sunni!" I greeted as I ran out to see her.

"Crystal!" she greeted back. "I haven't seen you in forever! How's things been going since the fire?"

"Oh, you two heard about that?" I asked.

"Sadly, yes," 'Kyan' answered. "We're sorry to hear about that. So, where are you staying now?"

"At the mansion," I told them. "Nothing much."

"I thought you would stay there," Sunni smiled. "Who had the idea?"

"It was 'Nathan's'," I answered. "He came up with it."

"Figures," 'Kyan' muttered.

"We brought company," I told Sunni. "There's been a little bit of a crisis."

As we headed in, 'Kyan' explained everything to her. She then looked stunned, and started to look worried. She started to even grab her hat at times, and try to keep her pants pulled up in the back. When 'Kyan' finished the explaining, Sunni just sighed and tilted her head towards the floor.

"I can't keep it in," she confessed. "I've tried to get away from them, but I was too late!"

"What are you talking about?" I asked her.

"I'll just show you," she told us. "For I've encountered her already!"

Sunni pulled the hat off and pulled something out of her back. She then transformed from a normal girl into a girl with tall, black ears coming out of her head and a long, fluffy orange and white-tipped tail coming out of the back.

"Oh, no!" I gasped. "What happened?"

"They turned me into a fox," she sighed. "And they accidently hit me again, turning into this…"

"So, they're already here," I heard 'Nathan' mumble frantically behind me.

"Did you know it was Gemm?" I asked her.

"No," she told me. "I had no idea. She didn't look like herself. Her skin was glowing a weird blue color, and her eyes were just white. Her hair's turning from the usual brown into white. It's not good at all…"

"Oh, geez," was all I could say.

"So, are you stuck like this now?" 'Nathan' asked her, trying to be polite.

"I think so," she told him. "I can't see anything or anyone who can get rid of this."

"Did you see where they headed off?" I asked.

"Towards town," she told me. "She was going with some redheaded girl and some weird guy. There was also a cat following them…"

"Just as I suspected," I sighed. "Of course, they all go out except for the sack man, who's guarding the base."

"We can't trust anyone outside the friend circle," Jewel said as she came out from behind. "We can only trust the people we know well."

"Even Jeff and his buddies can't be trusted," Sarah joined in. "Oh, dear, what are we going to do?"

"You guys are staying here," 'Nathan' replied, taking lead. "While Jack, Crystal and I go and solve this. You must stay here, for there's terror going outside of the woods…"

"We know," Foxadore said, curling up on the floor, wings spread out. "We'll keep watch. Prowler's taking first shift…"

"And who said anything about that?" the wolf asked his partner, looking a bit annoyed at him.

"I'm too tired," the winged fox said. "Wake me up when you're ready to change…"

"Oh, fine," Prowler huffed, and started to join the other animals.

"Better get going," I sighed. "It's the only way…"

The three of us said our goodbyes, and headed out before anyone else could say another word. We then started to walk into the pine area of the forest, for it was the only shortcut to the trees. We walked a good ten minutes on the dirt road covered in pine needles, and then we finally reached the end of the pine area. The edge had no trees to hide us, so we had to watch our every step while we went to go find the pathway to lead us to our destination. We took cover as much as we can, and then I found the huge stones creating a manmade road. It was no surprise to find boot and paw prints. We then stayed on the stones, not wanting to step in the mud and leave tracks ourselves. Another couple of minutes passed, and could already see the ring of trees. We finally hit the top of the huge hill, and I grabbed the nob to the pumpkin door.

"Ready guys?" I asked them.

"Do we have the potion?" 'Nathan' asked.

"I have it," I answered, pulling the bottle out of my jean pocket.

"Then we're ready!" he answered back.

I jumped in first, letting the darkness surround me like a huge blanket of nothing. I even heard the shouts of the other two, and started to laugh. I then tried something.

"Can you guys hear me?" I called out.

"Yeah we can," I heard one of them say. "Probably because we're right on top of each other…"

"Oh…" I laughed.

I then started to laugh, freefalling… wait a minute… we weren't moving at all!

"Uh, guys," I said. "Why aren't we moving?"

"What?" a voice echoed from above. "Oh, now I know what you mean…"

I then was able to spin in the blackness, and realized we were in a zero gravity place! I then started to move my way up, and I found 'Nathan' right above me.

"Oh, there you are," he laughed. "Jack's up higher, he can't hear us…"

"Should we go get him?" I asked.

"I guess," he answered back, and started to push his way up. "You stay there, and I'll find ya!"  
I waited there in the darkness, hoping for it to go fast. It wasn't long before I started to see a bit of a figure move towards me.

"Alright," one of them said, whom I thought was 'Nathan'. "How are we going to get out?"

"Try to get down," the other voice told us. "We'll be out just as if we were falling…"

"That'll work," I called up. "It's the only way we'll ever get out of here…"

I started to push down with my arms, almost as if I were swimming to the bottom of a deep pool. The other two followed, and soon enough, we were out of the darkness and on to flat ground. I then could see the other two float down besides me, and I began to question what just happened.

"They must've rigged the tree," 'Nathan' thought out loud. "That's the only explanation I have for this."

"Alright, now for the potion," Jack said. "You still have it?"

"Yep," I answered as I pulled the bottle out of the pocket. "Have it right here."

I opened the top of the ampoule, and handed it to the other two. 'Nathan' grabbed it first, and took his swig. Jack then grabbed it from him and took his mouthful. I then grabbed it and drank what was left. We then waited for something to happen, but nothing did.

"Do you guys even feel anything?" I asked. "Nothing's happening!"

"I don't really feel-" 'Nathan' started to say.

He was then cut off by the whiteness that surrounded me. I knew this must be the potion, as I began to change. I could no longer hear anything, nor feel a thing around me. I could only feel a bit of pain from my gut, and a bit of pulling and stretching from all areas of my body. When the whiteness left me, I appeared to be smaller. A lot smaller.

"Wow, it worked on you," 'Nathan' said, picking me up from the scruff of my back. "But why a rat for you?"

"A rat?" I squeaked. "I guess it's good for around here…"

I then saw the whiteness surround Jack, and when it left him, he became some sort of calico cat.

"Well, looks like animals are what we're being," I said. "Wonder what you're going to be, 'Nathan'…"

He then put me down, and I saw the whiteness surround him. Again, it left him, but there was a pirate in his place.

"A pirate?" I heard Jack laugh. "Oh, that's the best disguise for you? This is hilarious!"

'Nathan' still looked the same, but just had a bit of a weird beard on him and pirate clothing on. I began to chuckle myself as I ran up on his shoulder.

"Makes sense for us to be like this," I said. "There are rats on a boat and sometimes cats…"

"That is true," 'Nathan' said. "But do I really need to b going around in a pirate suit?"  
"Better than being an animal, if ya ask me," the little calico cat said. "I have to get used to this new walking style now."

"I'm used to it," I squeaked. "I used to mess with the teachers at my old school by turning into a rat to scare them. It was funny until they figured out I had magic…"

"Still sounds like fun," 'Nathan' laughed. "I wonder if Ruby or Gemm is afraid of rats."

"I think Ruby definitely is," Jack said.

"I know Gemm isn't," I told them. "She rather take rats home then scream in fear over them!"

"That is true," 'Nathan' said.

"We better start heading off before this wears off," Jack told us. "We don't want to be caught…"

"Lead the way," 'Nathan' answered him. "You know this place better than I do."

The little cat then ran for the huge gate right above the graveyard. 'Nathan' followed him, and I bounced up and down on the shoulder due to the movement. We eventually got into the town, but something was _different_.

"Where is everyone?" 'Nathan' asked.

"Yeah," I commented. "That's what's off. I wonder if they're hiding…"

We continued to roam the place, waiting to see at least _someone_.

"This is strange," Jack said. "There's usually at least one person out here."

The whole place was silent. I felt like I was in a ghost town, which kind of suits the place. I mean, ghosts are a part of Halloween, aren't they? Anyways, it didn't take long for us to get back to Jack's place. We stepped inside, and sure enough, the disguises wore off, making me fall off of 'Nathan's' shoulder. Of course, Jack had to change back to his normal self to find this person he was talking about.

"Are you sure you want t go alone?" 'Nathan' asked him. "Just incase the villains-"

"I'll be fine," Jack cut him off. "I know how to defend…"

"Okay then," 'Nathan' replied.

Jack then left us in the house, and the two of us just wondered what to do now.

"I guess we wait?" I wondered. "I don't know what else to do."

"I still think I should've went with him," 'Nathan' sighed. "He knows he's going to need me…"

"Maybe he's worried about _me_," I thought out loud. "I mean, if you two are gone, then what am I going to do? Well, that's what he's probably thinking…"

"He knows you have powers," he commented. "And at least I know you can take care of yourself."

"Seems Jack thinks differently," I sighed. "Why does he care so much? I mean, I'm your problem. Not in a bad way, though."

"I think its just part of his job here," he said. "I mean, he's the king here…"

"I thought he wasn't a king," I told him. "He's sort of like… a… most important mayor… and then there's the regular mayor… yeah…"

"Or like a president," he thought out loud. "That makes complete sense."

"But he's not **that** important," I commented. "But among the lines…"

We then waited for his return. The wait was long, almost an hour worth. I then watched as 'Nathan' started to head for the door.

"Where are you going?" I asked him.

"To check up on him," he said. "He shouldn't be gone for this long."

"I don't think he's going to like this," I replied. "I don't really think you should-"

"Oh, c'mon now," he said. "You know I'll be fine. I've got tons of powers, remember?"

"The only powers I know you have are invisibility, shape-shifting, and your tentacles," I commented.

"They're enough, right?" he asked. "I told ya, I'll be fine. You know what to do if trouble comes."

He then left, and I was alone. I then wondered if the little fort we made was still up. I went to the room we stayed in, and I found the little fort still in there. I then also saw a small book on the desk. I picked the book up, only to find it a notebook.

"A notebook?" I thought out loud. "Is this Jack's?"

Of course, I got no answer. I flipped open to the first few pages, which just seem to be all science equations and all that. Typical. I then started to flip more, until I found something I could actually read. I then questioned what to I do. _Should I even been looking at this right now?_ I asked myself. _What if there's something really private in here?_ I then decided to put the book down back in its original place, where the dust had outlined it. This place really did need some cleaning. I then was about to leave the room, until a page lightly fell out of the book. I went to pick it up, hoping to put it back in, until I saw the words on the page.

_Make sure Crystal and 'Nathan'/Slendy sees this IMMEDIATELY_.

"Whoa," I yelled as I stared at the page. "Well, in that case, maybe I should read the rest…"

I then picked up the small book and flipped open to the page where I stopped. I then realized that this is the spot where the page had fallen out. I then began to read this, horrified at these journal entries. They were all visions, and I even began to vision them myself. All of these visions fell into place, and they all lead up to this event. It was as if these visions were warning him of this. I read until the last journal entry, which became the exact vision I saw in the ball that Chestnut showed me.

"This is too much," I cried out loud. "I can't take this! I need to clear my head!"  
I then put the book back down, leaving a note that I already read it. I then heard the sound of a small dog barking, and I turned around, scared that I was caught.

"Alright, come out, I'm not afraid!"

**Chapter Twenty-Five**

_Not Another Problem!_

I took the closet thing to me that looked like it would serve good as a weapon, which turned out to be the notebook and a pencil (yeah, _really_ good weapon choice…).

"Alright, come out!" I shouted. "I'm ready!"

I then heard the barking again, and the little ghost dog come out.

"Oh, Zero, it's just you, buddy!" I smiled, coming to my knees to pet the dog. "What is it, boy?"

The dog held a small note in his mouth, and I lightly grabbed it from him. I then looked at the note, and dropped it in horror.

_HELP US_

I then took a page out from the back of the notebook, writing the note that I'm coming. I then handed it to the dog.

"Give this to Jack, an hurry!" I commanded.

The little dog left, and I began to follow it, having no idea where I was going, until I looked at the note again. There was a small message on the back.

_We're at Town Square. Find us there. But be careful, there are villains __**everywhere**_.

"Don't worry guys," I said to myself. "I got this."

I then left the house, turning invisible so I wouldn't get caught. I then followed the path down to Town Square, and started to look around. I then found Jack first, and I turned visible for him.

"I didn't know you guys can do that!" he said.

"Where's 'Nathan'?" I asked him.

"That's just it," he said. "I have no idea. He was here one minute, and then something grabbed him…"

"Oh, great," I sarcastically said. "Another problem. What next? One of us killed?"

"I hope not," he commented.

"Did you see where they went?" I asked.

"The person was invisible," he told me. "But I think we can follow that trail."

He then pointed to the ground where there were marks signifying that someone was being dragged.

"Yep, that's probably the best thing to do," I said. "C'mon, we best be on our way…"

I then began to follow the trail, almost running as I did this. Jack was literally right behind me. I kept running until the trail stopped right in front of the tree house.

"Yep, I knew it," I sighed. "Makes complete sense why he would be dragged here…"

I started to sneak over to the tree house, when I was pushed back by something.

"Whoa," I gasped. "What the heck?"

I went to go back, and I couldn't go forward. It was almost as if there was an invisible wall there.

"A force field?" I questioned. "Now what?"

"Maybe there's another way to get in," Jack thought out loud.

"And how do you suppose we get in?" I asked.

I watched at he looked up towards the top of the tree, and I knew exactly what he meant. I then pointed up to the treetop, and he nodded.

"And how do we get up there?" I asked.

"That is true," he said. "But maybe there's a way to get up. If we use the force field to our advantage…"

I stared long and hard, and I knew exactly what to do. I almost thought of regretting this, but it's the only way to get in.

"Alright, I'm going to try something," I said. "You might want to stand back, for once I let this thing go, I can't really control it."

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"You'll see," I said. "Just brace yourself... I got to make myself angry…"

Jack took a couple steps back, and I started to think. I then thought of the house fire, which got me upset. My emotion ran through me, and I knew the crystalized tentacles had come out. I opened my eyes, since I had to shut them close while thinking, and I watched as one started to grab jack.

"Uh, Crystal," he said.

"Hold on," I called to him. "Let me try to control this…"

I thought really, really hard. I then gain control of the tentacle. I grabbed Jack and got him up in the top of the tree. I then thought of happy things, and they disappeared.

"Well, whatever you did, it worked," he said.

"Find something to pull me up!"

He disappeared into the tree, and came back out with the rope. I grabbed it and started to climb. I was halfway there, when it started to break. The rope snapped, and I thought I would fall, until I felt the bony fingers grab my wrist. I looked up to see the kind smile of Jack, as he pulled me up. I fell back, blushing as I did so.

"Uh, thanks," I smiled.

"No problem," he said. "Now, let's find a way to get down."

We started to look around, and I eventually found what I was looking for.

"The pipe!" I exclaimed, rushing over to it.

The pipe was small, but big enough for me to fit down if I turn tiny for a bit. How the heck Jack's going to get down, I have the slightest idea.

"Okay, this is our only way down," he said. "I know you can shrink down, and I can probably make myself fit…"

"Are you sure?" I asked. "Doesn't that hurt?"

"Of course not!" he laughed. "I'm dead, remember?"

"Oh, right," I said, forgetting that part. "I guess I'll go first…"

I shrunk down, and I began to glide through the pipe. I slid right down, making sure to be quite. I started to walk around, looking for 'Nathan'. I looked everywhere, and then I found him. Good timing too, for Jack joined me at that very moment.

"Okay, what's the plan?" he asked me.

"I'll think of one," I squeaked, still being tiny. "I think I'll try and break him free, while you go and distract whoever's there."

"Sounds like a plan to me," he commented, and he went to check the scene.

I went to the table, checking the straps. Since I was tiny, I could figure out how to unstrap the leather straps easier. I then began to undo the straps, trying not to be caught. I started on the right arm, hoping just to get one unstrapped. I could then hear the mini battle going on between Jack and whoever was there. I couldn't tell, for I was focused on getting 'Nathan' free. I eventually broke the strap, and the hand was free. The thing that scared me was it wasn't moving. I went up to his face, noticing he was knocked out.

"C'mon, 'Nathan'," I whispered into his ear. "Get up! Please, get up!"

I started to lightly tap his face a bit, hoping to wake him up. I even considered punching him awake, but it would be no use. I then finally heard heavy breathing, knowing he was almost awake.

"Get up," I said, pushing the head. "You got to get up!"

"Huh?" I heard him lightly say.

"Oh, thank goodness," I sighed. "Don't worry, I'm almost done breaking you out!"

"Oh, where am I?" he asked. "Crystal? You're supposed to be at the house!"

"Until you got kidnapped," I told him. "Now, just stay still while I get you unstrapped…"

I worked on the second hand, and soon got that free as well. 'Nathan' then worked on the rest by getting his legs free. Once he was truly free, I sat on his shoulder while he joined Jack in the fight.

"Okay," he said. "No more Mr. Nice guy anymore!"

He then changed back into his regular form. I could tell, for I was risen higher and higher on his shoulder. I then watched as he used his tentacles to grab ahold of the villain, who happened to be Mark. I then watched closely, and noticed the knife in his hand. I then ran down the one tentacle, knocking the knife out of his hand.

"I don't think so," I told Mark. "If you're going to cut him, then I'll make sure you're dead!"

The thing I didn't notice was that he had a second knife, which he did cut the one tentacle.

"NO!" I screamed, watching Slendy lose his grip.

I then grabbed the knife, stabbing Mark in the arm.

"You don't hurt him!" I screamed in his face.

Mark grabbed his arm in pain, trying to take the knife out of it. Mark then fell to the ground, and I made it back on top of the shoulder just in time. I didn't care if I had to get a little violent. Nobody, and I mean **nobody**, is going to hurt my BF.

"Nice," Slendy told me. "I never had seen you get that violent."

"Ah, well," I said. "It's just instinct."

I then hopped off the shoulder and turned back to my normal size. I then realized Jack was missing. I started to look around, and then got worried.

"Uh, where the heck is Jack?" I wondered out loud.

"Oh, yeah," Slendy said. "That's probably a bad-"

"WHAT! What are they still doing alive?"

"Who was that?" I exclaimed.

"Don't know," Slendy replied.

I was ready to fight, no matter who the heck it was. There was a tiny fire burning inside of me, ready to be released. I then heard the small noises of footsteps, really sneaky footsteps. I kept turning my head so I could follow the sound. I then could make out the shadow of a young boy, not much older than I was. I already had the thought in mind of who it was.

"Alright, 'Ricky'," I called out. "Where are you?"

I felt like I was in one of those ninja movies, except with more fantasy and it was real. I kept my fist up, ready to dart fire at any enemy. I shift my eyes constantly, and I kept a smug look on my face. I then looked behind me, seeing the figure moving out of the darkness.

"Okay, what do you want?" I asked him, hoping that this will be easy.

"What do you think?" 'Ricky' asked back. "All I am is a servant to you guys, aren't I?"

"No, you're not," I calmly said. "At least I don't think so…"

I then realized I was alone. It was just 'Ricky' and I now.

"Where are they?" I sternly asked.

"Oh, don't worry, I took care of them…"

"If you hurt them, expect to be half-dead by the time I'm done with you!"

"Oh, don't threaten me. You wouldn't want anything to happen to them, would you?"

"Don't. You. Dare." I growled, angry with him.

"Or don't worry, my darling," he cackled. "I'll get it over and done with…"

I then heard the threatening cries of the other two. I got scared. Really, really scared. This was one of the scariest times I had ever witnessed; besides a couple of times the first year I met these guys.

"Slendy? Jack?" I called in the darkness. "Hang on guys, I'm coming!"

I started to run into the darkness, more scared about the guys then anything else in the world. I was almost about to reach the darkness, when something blocked my path. I looked closely, noticing the huge wall surrounding me.

"Where do you think you're going, cupcake?"

"Don't you _dare_ call me that!" I screamed. "I'm not a little girl anymore."

"Oh, of course not!" 'Ricky' smiled. "You know, I think you and I need a little talk…"

"Okay, lay it on me," I told him. "I'll take any offense, just try and make me crack!"

"Alright, fine," he said. "I know I'll win."

I then watched as he turned into the little cat I've known since before I had met any of the others. I watched as he came around, wanting to jump up on my lap. I pushed him down every time, not wanting to be tricked.

"Oh, you are intelligent," the cat purred. "But maybe I should try this…"

He then took a big breath, and I knew it was coming. I knew I was going to fight a lot of pain for the next couple of minutes.

"Oh, I remember all those wonderful songs you wrote," the cat grinned. "How you worked so hard on all of those pieces…"

He then went behind himself, and grabbed out pieces of paper. I knew what he was about to do next. I then started to think about how the heck I was going to get out of the place, tuning out the cat.

"Hey, you're not even listening to me!" the cat yelled. "Don't you want to hear how I found these?"

"Go ahead, do your worst," I replied. "What are ya going to do? Rip them up? Burn them into flames? Scribble all over it?"

"Oh, you think I have your music in my paws?" he asked. "Oh, no. It's the _letter_."

"What letter?" I questioned.

"_His_ letter…" Zimmy laughed. "And why would I rip up the one thing that'll brutalize you?"

"I don't even remember this letter," I told him. "I don't remember any letter that would harm me…"

"Oh, this letter was meant to be sent to you," he cruelly said. "I know how much you despise him."

"Let me guess, Zack?"

"No, a person you haven't seen in a _long_ time."

"I give up," I yelled. "I'm not playing this guessing game anymore!"

"Alright, maybe you'll know who I mean when I show you _this_…"

The cat then backed up, showing some hologram of some scene. I could clearly make out myself crying on the steps, and Gemm coming to my side. I knew right away whom he was talking about.

"No… no, not him!" I cried. "Please, no, not him!"

"Ah, yes him…" the cat laughed. "It's your good old guy friend, Danny!"

The cat chaotically laughed, and I could already feel the pain. _You can do this,_ I told myself. _Don't let it get to you! You know you hate it when people see you cry…_

"Go on, read it," I screamed. "I can take it. I haven't seen him in years. Why should I care about him now?"

"Alright, suit yourself," the cat said, and began to read. "My dearest Crystal, I know how much you couldn't wait for the dance. I am sorry to say that I have founded a new girl to go with. Hope you aren't mad and can find another. If not, I'm sorry, but we're through…"

I was literally holding back tears. Was that really what he wrote? Is that what he meant? I then decided to talk myself into believing it's fake.

"It's not real," I said. "If it was from him, he would've never written it. He would've dumped me properly. I know you made it up."

"Are you sure?" Zimmy asked me. "Would you really be fine if he were here right now?"

"Don't bring him out," I told him. "You'd be wasting your time…"

"I thought you'd want me to waste time," he said. "After what I'm thinking of doing…"

"No… DON'T!" I screamed.

"Too late, for it already happened!"

"WHAT DID YOU DO?" I screamed. "HOW COULD YOU?"  
That's when I heard the hitting against the wall. A huge blade went through it, and started to cut a door through the metal.

"Don't worry Crystal," the voice on the other side said. "I'm busting you out!"

I realized whom this was, and was actually surprised.

"Jack? JACK!" I screamed. "Get me out!"

"On it!" he said.

"What?" Zimmy asked. "He's supposed to be done for! What happened?"

The blade then cut through, revealing the white-headed boy on the other side. I was surprised he had to go in disguise, but the reason must've been a good one.

"You leave her alone," he said. "I can take you out any day!"

Jack was really, really close to me. This was probably for safety, but it felt odd in a way. I shook the feeling out of my head, knowing the fight was more important right now.

"You want to dance?" the cat asked, turning into his human form. "Then, let's _dance_!"

'Ricky' grabbed a skinny pipe from the wall, holding it out in front of Jack's sword. That's when the thought hit me. _Where the heck did Jack get a sword? How the heck does he know how to use it?_ I was sure I would get the answer soon after the fight was done.

"You're doing down, cat boy," Jack said. "I don't know what your problem is, but I'm ready to fight!"

That's when the fight broke out. The sword against the pipe made the coolest fight noises ever. I then watched, as Jack was so close to cutting up 'Ricky' into little pieces. The pipe then flew out of 'Ricky's' hands and he was pinned to the floor. Jack's sword was right at the boy's chest, just like any pirate would do.

"Any last words?" Jack laughed.

"Not words, but surprises!" 'Ricky' said, turning back into his cat self and running away.

"Glad that's over," Jack said, putting the sword back in his belt.

"Wait, where the heck did you get the sword?" I asked him.

"Ah, just something I grabbed from one of those other guys," he said, pointing to the bodies on the floor.

These bodies were all Proxy hunters, and they were all either passed out or dead.

"Whoa, you killed people?" I asked.

"Mortally wounded," he answered. "Slendy was the one that killed."

"Speaking of which," I said. "Where is he?"

There was a long pause. Jack looked at me with an odd expression on his face. It was like a mix of panic and sorrow. He then took a deep breath, and began.

"I don't really know how to say this," he began. "But to make it simple, well, let's just say that… uh… my vision was right…"

_Oh, no!_ My head shrieked. _No, this can't be! This can't be right!_

"Where is he?" I said through sorrow. "Where's he now?"

"I guess I'll go grab him," Jack shyly said.

He then left the scene, and I took the opportunity to shed a few tears before I even saw my BF paralyzed. Jack came back quickly, dragging the body with him. It looked like Slendy was kind of sleeping, which was quite funny in a way. It also took a lot of the sadness away, too, knowing that it wasn't _horrible_.

"He's still alive, right?" I asked.

"From what I can tell," Jack said. "I think he's still breathing."

I closed in on him, looking at the chest. I could ever so lightly see it move. Relief settled through me.

"Yep, still alive," I sighed. "Thank goodness…"

"We should probably get him back?" Jack asked.

"If you mean the bus hideout, then yes," I answered.

I then looked at my now paralyzed BF, dragged in the arms of another guy who keeps flirting with me (literally) and so happens to be his cousin, not to mention one of my best childhood memories ever. It wasn't long before we came to the platform, and we were ready to flee the place.

"Oh, I almost forgot," Jack said, reaching into his pocket.

He then hold out something in his hands. It was small, yet golden and glorious. I gasped at the sight as I picked it up.

"Bu- but how?" I asked.

"Well, let's just say, I'm good at finding things," he said with a wink. "Now, let's get out of here before they realize they don't have the key anymore!"

**Chapter Twenty-Six**

_Just the Two of Us_

It wasn't long before the platform did take us back to the trees, and now it was my turn to carry the body.

"Great," I sighed. "Now this should be interesting…"

"Hey," Jack told me. "He'd probably do the same thing for you. Heck, he'd carry you miles if he had to!"

This was true. So very, very true. I guess I did owe him for the time he carried me to the hospital after my confession. I then picked up the body that was twice the height of me, and started to drag him down the hill. It wasn't until we were halfway to the bus that Jack finally stopped me.

"I guess you can't really carry him," he laughed. "Here, let me help you…"

Okay, now it wasn't so bad that I had to carry the head now. Still kind of felt odd, but at least it wasn't long until we reached the bus. We quickly got him in after answering tons of questions.

"Now what?" Sunni asked. "We just can't leave him like this!"  
"Any ideas, Jack?" I asked.

"You're asking _me_?" he questioned.

"You're kind of in charge now," I said. "So, who else do I ask?"

He kind of thought for a minute, and then finally came up with something.

"The witch!" he told us. "Didn't he say something about a witch helping us?"

"Oh, yeah," I thought out loud. "But do you really think she'd help us?"

"It's the only chance we got!" 'Kyan' told me. "And I know exactly which witch you mean. All the Creepy pastas go to her during troubling times. I know the way, but only because I had to go there once. I'll give you directions, but I can't really go with without a Creepy pasta to escort me. You guys got to find one to get in."

"I know who!" I said. "Masky and E.J.! They would love to go with us!"

"Uh, who?" Jack asked.

"Oh, don't worry," I exclaimed. "They're the BF's of Laura and Emily. I'm sure those two wouldn't mind us borrowing them for a bit…"

"Yeah, they're probably the only Creepy pastas close and left unharmed," Sunni said.

"Well, we should probably go now," I told them, in a rush to get going.

"Oh, no you're not!" 'Kyan' hold me off. "You're getting some rest! It's late, and you two need some sleep."

"Fine," I sighed. "But we're leaving as soon as we're ready!"

Good thing I could go to the house to grab clothing for tomorrow. Jack was hesitant on letting me go on my own, but 'Kyan' assured that I would be fine. I also grabbed the potions that Chestnut gave me, hoping that one of them might help us. I came back quick before one of them came out to get me, since I didn't want any more problems to start. They already had set out a place for me to sleep, which was in the safest spot possible: right in the middle of the bus. The other animals stayed towards the front, and Jack stayed by the back door. It felt odd sleeping with the people I was with, and especially odd not being in a bed or having at least one Creepy pasta around. I then tried to fall asleep, but I just couldn't. The visions of Slendy being paralyzed just kept coming to me. I knew he was fine, but it was still scary. I then sat up, trying to think of something to get me to sleep. _What if I count sheep,_ I thought. _Yeah, that'll work! Okay, better start counting. 1… 2… 3…_ I eventually got up to over 100, and yet the visions were still there. _Maybe it'll help if I closed my eyes…_ I then shut my eyelids and snuggled back down into the sleeping bag, hoping for something else to come into my head. I fell off into a deep sleep, only to dream up a nightmare of the fight. I must've been talking in my sleep, for I felt someone rapidly rocking me awake.

"C'mon, Crystal," the voice said. "It can't be _that_ bad…"

I let my eyes flicker open, and I appeared to be outside. Jack was the one who was shaking me awake.

"What happened?" I asked.

"You were sleep walking," he told me. "You almost tore apart that tree over there…"

He pointed to a huge tree with lots and lots of marks on it. I then realized here was a huge weapon in my hands, almost dull now. The weapon I recognized from the bus, for 'Kyan' always kept it on the wall for emergencies.

"I was having a bad dream," I shyly said. "I couldn't sleep. After what happened with-"

"I could tell that," Jack laughed. "You were talking in your sleep as well…"

"I was?" I wondered out loud. "I guess I'm not used to these things. It's been a while since I've been through stuff like this…"

"Same here," he answered. "I haven't had as much excitement since a while back. Those were the good old days…"

"Good old days?" I exclaimed. "My good old days are when I first met Slendy. I had all my original friends and I wasn't really enemies with anyone but, like, three people. I wish I could go back to those days…"

"I thin we all do, Crystal," he said. "Gee, it's weird, since it's going to be only the two of us now…"

He was right. At first it was us main three, but now it's going to be the two of us in the truck for an hour until we reach the others. Once we get there, we'll have at least two more people with us.

"You know what," I thought out loud. "I don't think it'd be that bad. I mean, of course it'd be different, but at least it'll be fun, right?"

"I guess so," he answered. "If only the world wasn't falling apart…"

"Literally," I sighed. "Between the house fire, Gemm turning-"

"House fire? What house fire?"

"Slendy never told you?" I asked.

"Uh, no. Why, did something happen?"

Thank goodness he was in his human form, since it made it a lot easier to tell the story. It'd be kind of weird talking to his real form. Why? Well, don't really know _why_, but it'd be kind of unusual.

"Gee, that's a shame," he said. "I guess your world's falling apart more than anyone else right now…"

"At least Slendy let me stay at the mansion," I smiled. "It's kind of weird, but not really."

"I guess it would be," he laughed. "Should we go back and get some rest?"  
"If I can," I joked. "Even counting sheep didn't work…"

We then kept talking quietly until we reached the bus, and I shimmered back under the covers f the blankets and sleeping bags. I had a restful sleep afterwards, thanks to the little talk, and I could finally catch up on some sleep. My last thought did strike me a little bit, thought, about what 'Nathan' had said before about Jack. I remembered him saying something about Jack going insane if he wasn't there, and that I'd probably be the only one to keep him on track. Why me again? I then pushed the thought out of my head. _I'll worry about that when we get there_, I thought. _No sense losing sleep over that._

"Wake up, sleepy head!"

My eyes opened to see the little winged fox there. I smiled, patting him on the head.

"Hey Foxadore," I smiled. "Where's Prowler?"

"Out getting food," he answered. "Don't worry, he's grabbing food out of the mansion for Jack and you."

"Oh, thank goodness," I laughed. "I'm not eating raw meat!"  
I then got up, ready to start the day. I looked around the bus, realizing almost everyone was gone.

"Where is everyone?" I asked.

"They're all out getting food," the fox said. "Jack went to get something else. I have no idea what, though."

"Oh," I replied. "I was almost certain that Jack would wake me up…"

"He was going to," Foxadore laughed. "But, as I said, he went to grab something."

"Wonder what," I thought. "It could be anything at this point."

I ran out to get dressed, and then came back in to wait for the others. It was 'Kyan' and Sunni who came in first.

"Don't worry," Sunni told me. "Prowler's coming back with the food for you and Jack."

"Oh, okay," I smiled. "I guess the bag 'Kyan' is holding is for you guys."

"That's right," she answered. "Normal game, like rabbits and deer…"

"Speaking of which," I thought. "Where are Emma, Sarah, Fern and Jewel? Are they with Prowler?"

"They're at the other hideout," 'Kyan' replied. "They decided to stay there for now. Don't worry, for they should be fine."

The door snapped open, and the wolf came in with a huge burlap bag in his mouth.

"Oh, I see she's up. Well, here's the food for you two… wait, where's Jack?"

"No idea," Foxadore answered for him. "He went to grab something."

"Oh, great," Prowler said. "Him and his mysteries. I can't believe he's doing this…"

"Must be for the lady," Foxadore joked.

"Please, don't call me that," I sternly said. "I am a girl, not a lady."

"My apologies," he nervously said. "I'm used to it from my girl."

"Who, Lily?" Prowler asked him.

"Yeah," the fox blushed. "You know how she is."

I started to grab out some things in the bag. Leftover waffles and pancakes, lots of juice, some types of fruit… man, it looked like we were going to have a whole picnic for breakfast! I started to set out the food on the floor, choosing out the best stuff there was. I then looked over my shoulder to see the others going towards the door.

"Hey guys," a cheerful voice said. "I'm back. Did you bring the food?"  
"Jack!" I called, heading towards the door. "Where the heck were you?"  
The boy looked at me and gave a cheerful smile. I could tell this was going to be interesting.

"Just retrieving something of yours," he blushed a bit, holding out the necklace. "You dropped it last night, and I know how much this means to you…"

"My crystal!" I said, grabbing the necklace from him. "But, how'd you know?"

"I thought something was missing," he laughed. "You always wear this!"

"She has a reason to," Sunni said. "That's the _special_ necklace, and not just because it has powers! You know what I mean, 'Kyan',"

"Oh, I do," 'Kyan' chuckled. "That necklace is from-"

"SHHH!" Sunni cut him off. "Don't tell him!"  
"What?" Jack asked. "What's this about?"

"Oh, they're just goofing around," I answered. "It's from 'Nathan'."

"Aw, you lost the fun out of it!" Sunni said.

"He would've figured out anyways," 'Kyan' told her. "It's pretty obvious."  
"We better get ready to go," I told Jack. "We have to hurry…"

"Yep," he said back.

The two of us quickly got food in ourselves and headed for the edge of the forest. My truck was still there, thank goodness, and we packed the most important things in it.

"Should we take the shard?" I asked. "The one that made those tentacles come out of my back."

"Maybe," Jack answered. "I don't think we'll need it right now…"

"Okay, then I think we're good. Better hop in."

After getting in the car and saying our goodbyes to the others, we were on our way. Heading out wasn't so bad, but I could already see the changes that were going on. Everyone, or so I can assume, were turned into animals just like the girls were. Other people were hypnotized. It wasn't a pretty sight, I can tell you that. Half the houses were on fire, destroyed, or being destroyed this very second. The sky was all grey and gloomy, just like the first day back. Everything was different.

"Gee," I heard Jack say. "This place is going downhill. Hope we don't run into anyone…"

I could then see Gemm surrounded by the other hypnotized Creepy pastas and the Proxy hunters. Mark and Ruby were a little farther out, creating chaos as they went. I did my best to speed the heck out of there, since the cops were all probably little furry creatures by now or under Gemm's power. I raced the car out of there, glad to get out of the mess. The road was easy then to drive through, and soon we were at the collage.

"I wonder if I can get in the room," I said. "So I can contact either Laura or Emily."

"That'd probably be a good idea," Jack commented. "We're going to have to get in no matter what."

"You mean break in?" I asked.

"Exactly what I mean."

"Oh, alright, but we have to be careful…"

I then drove the truck into the campus, far enough to get to the building with my dorm in it. Once the car was parked, the two of us hopped out and started to head for the building's door. I tried to open it, but it was locked.

"Figures," I mumbled. "Just because nobody's here. How are we going to get in?"  
"Well…" Jack said, looking at the top window.

"The window?" I asked. "Are you sure?"

"I'm sure," he answered. "Only way to get in…"

At least the window was easy to get to. The only problem was that it was locked.

"Great," I said. "What now?"  
I watched as Jack walked back towards the car, pick up something and chuck it at the window. The glass shattered, and the hole was big enough for us to get in.

"Well, that worked," I said.

"You go in first," he told me. "It's always girls first…"

You don't know how happy I was **not** to be called a lady. At least he remembered. I then crawled in the window, and glad for it to be a hallway window. Jack came in after, and I tried to figure out where we were.

"Oh, good," I whispered. "This is our hallway!"

"Great," Jack whispered back. "So, lead the way!"

I started to wonder down the long, dark hallway. It wasn't hard to find my dorm, since all of the names on the door was colorful and almost glow-in-the-dark. I then swiped my card and opened the door. Good thing the place was really clean.

"Okay," I said. "There should be _something_ in here…"

We then began to look around. I looked all through Laura's stuff, hoping to find at least one thing with her number on it.

"Found something," Jack called.

I rushed over. Apparently, Emily left a notebook in the dorm, and in bold numbers was her phone number.

"Yes! This is her number!" I cheerfully whispered. "Okay, let me call her quick…"

It only took me a couple of seconds to reach her. After telling her who I was, she was glad to hear my voice.

"Listen, Emily, you have to give me directions to your place, and quick!"

"Why? So you can just come to visit?"

"No!" I told her. "There's a major problem. We need to get Masky or E.J., and I'm not going through their dorm."

"Wait, your in the dorm? How'd you get in?" she asked.

"Long story," I said. "Anyways, can you just give me some directions to either your place or any of the others?"  
"Sure," she answered. "Here's how to get from collage to our place…"

After writing down the address, I thanked her. She then told me something important.

"Make sure to say who you are to my parents. If they don't know you, it can be dangerous."

"Oh, okay then," I replied. "I'll make sure to do that!"

She was the first to hang up. I hung up soon after. The two of us got out of the room, and headed back into the truck to get out of the place. Good thing I had a GPS to plug in the address for Emily's house.

"This should only take a couple of minutes," I said. "Shouldn't be too long."

"Fine by me," he replied. "You're the one driving."

I didn't have a good comeback on that. I couldn't even focus on that stuff, since all I cared about was getting to Emily's place. I put the truck on drive, and we were off. In a few minutes, we were in a lonely neighborhood.

"Oh, I remember this place from Christmas," I commented. "This place won't be hard to forget!"

"Oh, yeah…" Jack commented back. "I remember now…"

After searching around the dark neighborhood, we finally found the house number. After parking the car, we headed up to the door. I pushed in the button for the doorbell, which gave out a melancholy chime. The door creaked open, and a tall woman answered the door.

"And who are _you_?"

Her voice drawled out long and low.

"Hello," I nervously said. "I'm Crystal, and this is Jack. We're friend of Emily."

"Oh! So you're my daughter's friends. Yes, come right in!"

The door opened fully, allowing Jack and me to come in. The place was a bit strange, since it was all dark and gloomy, but I was kind of used to it. It kind of reminded me of the mansion a bit, but this house was a lot smaller and the upstairs included rooms and not just an attic.

"Emily!" the woman called. "Your friends are here!"

I was guessing the woman was Emily's mother. Made sense, of course. Emily then came racing down the steps, first glad to see me, and then surprised I brought someone along.

"You're here with Jack?" she asked. "But if he's here, then where's, uh, 'Nathan'?"

"That's the problem," I whispered to her.

"Oh," she whispered back, and then she stopped whispering. "Here, we better go to my favorite place in the house. You both should be fine there…"

She led the two of us upstairs. She then opened a door to more and more stairs, until it was a dead end.

"A dead end?" I asked.

"Not entirely," she replied. "That's why this is my favorite part of house…"

She then touched the wall a bit, letting the wall somehow slide. _Oh, it's a sliding door!_ My mind told me. _That makes sense why this is the favorite part of the house. A secret room is always the best room…_

"Alright," she told us. "My parents don't know about this room, so you can't let them know about this, okay?"

"Um, okay," both Jack and I said simultaneously.

Emily then pushed the wall far back, opening to this huge room. The room was almost as big as a master bedroom.

"Why don't you want your parents to know about this?" I asked.

"This is where I hide," she answered. "I also hide E.J. up here sometimes. He sleeps over on occasions…"

_Lucky,_ my mind thought. _I wish I had a room so I can hide 'Nathan' in it…_ I erased the thought out of my mind, focusing back on the room.

"Are any of the others in here?" I asked, not really sure why I asked the question.

"Actually, that's why I gave the address to here," she giggled. "E.J.'s here right now, though I can't seem to find him…"

"I'm right here," another voice said.

Coming out of the shadows, the masked boy started to shove something into his mouth. I already knew what it was.

"You just have to eat right now, didn't you," Emily said.

"Sorry, I got hungry," E.J. laughed. "What do you want me to do, starve?"  
"Good point," she laughed back. "Anyways, I brought Crystal and Jack in. They want you and Masky for something…"

"Jack?" he asked. "Who's Jack?"

"Him," I said, pointing to the boy right next to me. "He's in disguise right now."

"Should I turn back?" Jack asked.

"Nah, you're good," I answered. "Not worth it right now. We don't want to be caught…"

"She's got a point," E.J. commented. "I should probably get in disguise, too."

In one swift motion, the masked boy was now the strong football guy that dated Emily.

"Okay," I said. "Can we get Masky in on this?"

"We'd have to go back to the tree house, but sure."

"That's fine," I replied.

"You guys better leave soon," Emily told them. "My parents might get suspicious…"

"I'll leave the back way," 'Brody' told us.

"I'll escort you guys out," Emily said.

She led us down, and right out of the house. She then told us to go to the backyard to meet up with 'Brody'. We walked around the house, meeting 'Brody' in the back.

"Ready to go?' he asked us.

"Ready when you are," I answered.

"Just follow me," he told us. "We'll get there faster if we take the shortcut…"

"Let me guess, hopping from building to building and taking some crazy route, right?" I asked.

"Well, it wouldn't be fun if I didn't truck you through an obstacle course," he joked. "Just keep up and you'll be fine."

I wasn't sure what to say next. I felt like he was going to scare me with some impossible fence jumping. All I said next was "Okay," and we were off. He was running as fast as he could, and I felt like I was going to pass out from running, again! We ran until we hit some type of park, then we stopped.

"We should probably take the normal route now," he told us. "I know, I know. Running on rooftops and sneaking inside bushes was hard, but I promise you, this was is a lot faster than the other route."

"Whatever you say," I gasped between breaths. "I have no idea where I'm going. You're the tour guide!"

He chuckled a bit, and started to walk along this almost-hidden dirt path. We kept following the path until we reached the forest, and then to the tree with the huge tree house in it.

"Hey, I'm back," 'Brody' called up. "And I brought people."

"Company! Did they bring Cheesecake?"

"No, but I brought somebody new!" I replied.

"Hold on, I'll be down!" the voice called.

In no time at all, the white-masked boy was down the tree, greeting us.

"What's with the disguise?" Masky asked 'Brody'.

"Had to leave Emily's house. These two were invited in."

"Gotcha," Masky commented. "So, who's the new guy?"

"Not entirely new," I told them. "This is Jack. He's Slendy's cousin."

"OH, you're Slendy's cousin!" 'Brody' said. "I thought I recognized the voice."

"So, your cuz gave you a disguise, right?" Masky asked him.

"Uh, yeah…" Jack answered.

"Anyways," I interrupted, helping him out. "We need to go see some witch to help Slendy out."

"Let me guess, it's the witch he hates," Masky said. "So he won't go."

"That, and he's paralyzed," I replied.

"Oh…" the two of them said simultaneously.

"Well, that's a problem," Masky nervously said, and changed into his disguise. "We better get going then."

"Can I just drive you there?" I asked.

"Not exactly," 'Brody' answered. "We have to teleport there. Do we still have it?"

"Yeah, we do," 'Jake' answered.

He went up into the tree house, and came back down with some type of button in his hands.

"Okay," I whispered to Jack. "This is going to be interesting…"

"No kidding," he whispered back. "Anything that involves just a button should be good."

"Ready guys?" 'Brody' asked us.

"Ready," we said.

"Countdown to teleportation," 'Jake' chanted. "Three… two… ONE!"

At the word 'one', the button was clicked.

**Chapter Twenty-Seven**

_The Witch_

I was expecting some bright light to surround us again, but we were there in a blink of an eye. I looked up to see a huge, old castle only a few feet away. The castle reminded me of something you would see out of a fantasy book or movie. It wasn't one of those bright white ones, either. It was an off shade of gray, with vines covering it and some bricks missing. The windows were a bit off, too. I felt like we were going to be meeting with yet another villain. 'Brody' and 'Jake' turned back into their normal self to get into the place, but Jack still stayed in disguised. He had every right to be, for where we were headed was someplace unknown.

"Okay, we'll get you in, and then you guys go right on ahead," E.J. told us. "We'll wait outside for you."

"But what if something-" I began to say.

"You'll be fine," Masky cut me off. "She's always been a nice lady to us."

"The Witch of Sorcery was never mean to us," E.J. added. "Maybe we should walk you in, just incase you guys are mistaken for intruders…"

"Oh, nonsense," Masky replied. "If that ever happens, Jack can just change back. Once that happens, they can't hurt them."

"What do I have anything to do with this?" Jack asked them, completely confused.

"Because, you're related to Slendy," E.J. answered. "And she's the blue Proxy. Anyone related to Creepy pasta is safe here."

"Well, in that case," I trailed off.

"Better get going," Jack told us. "We have no time to waste!"

The group of us slowly headed up to the gate, where a creature stood. A stone gargoyle guarded the path to the castle, holding a spear in one hand and a sword in the other. Jack immediately grabbed the top of his sword, ready to take it out and fight. I stayed close to Jack, since that seemed like the thing to do. He was kind of the main protector now, since I'm almost lost without Slendy…

"And who might you be?" the stony creature asked at the front of the gate.

"We are Masky and Eyeless Jack," Masky introduced. "The people with us are friends of ours."

"You're just in luck," the gargoyle said. "The Witch of Sorcery is free for questions at this time. You may enter."

He opened the gate, having the metal creek and moan. The four of us entered in, worried and relieved.

"This is it," I mumbled. "Better hope she isn't as bad as Slendy said she was…"

"I hope she won't be upset," Masky nervously said. "When she gets upset… oh boy… is she U-P-S-E-T!"

That wasn't such good advice at the moment. We were literally right against the door. E.J. looked at Masky, gave one nod, and knocked on the door.

"Why, come on in, darlings." A voice greeted. "I'm as free as a butterfly out of its cocoon."

I brightened up a little bit. A voice that cheery meant that someone was in a good mood. The huge doors opened, and we stepped inside. I felt like the mood changed. Outside was all gloomy, but inside was luxurious. The marble white floors were so clean that they looked brand new. The red curtains were sparkling from cleanliness. I could've sworn the jewels that embroidered the walls were just picked out of a mine.

"Come closer, my sweets," the female voice sang. "You have _nothing_ to be afraid of!"

We stepped in as close as we could, seeing the huge throne and the woman in it. She looked young, and had a pretty pink dress on. Her hair was a vibrant shade of purple, though it seemed like quite an odd color, and her eyes were emerald green.

"Oh, I just got back from the most wonderful party," she told us. "I had the time of my life."

"Guess we better leave then," E.J. told us. "We'll wait for you outside."

"Leaving so soon?" she asked kindly.

"We're not the ones with the problem," Masky told her. "These two friends of ours have it."

The two masked boys left, and Jack and I were left alone with the witch.

"So, what's the problem?" she asked in a sassy tone.

"One of our friends is paralyzed," I managed to spit out. "A fellow Creepy pasta friend."

"Oh, dear, that is a problem," she replied. "May I see them?"

"They are somewhere else," Jack answered. "We had to leave him there. He was in a bad state. Coma like, almost."

"I'll see what I can do," she told us. "I must know who he is."

"It's Slendy," I nervously answered.

"Oh, _him_," she annoyingly said. "The man who stole my shard. Wonder what happened to it."

"I know," I said, and slapped a hand to my mouth once I said it.

"You do?" she excitedly asked. "Where is it? What happened? Spill child, spill!"

I closed my eyes, and before I knew it, those things were out of my back. I opened my eyes to see the witch in horror and Jack backed up in a corner, sword out and determined to cut any of them off. I then thought happy thoughts, and they disappeared out of thin air.

"Oh, my sweets," the witch gasped. "We have to do something about this!"

"It's not important right now," I told her. "What is important is that you fix my boyfr-"

I caught myself, not wanting to spit it out.

"You mean to tell me you're Slendy's girl?" she slyly asked.

"Um, who said anything about boyfriends and girlfriends?" I nervously lied.

"I see it!" she shouted. "The symbol! You're the one! You're the blue Proxy! You're the prophecy. And you're the one who's going to ruin me!"

She then changed, visibly and emotionally. She became more angered, less beautiful, and she showed the _real_ her. She then looked like a real witch, one with grey hair, a wrinkled face, long and pointy nose, and above all, grey eyes.

"I want them," her voice said, now old and ragged.

"Want what?" I shouted at her.

"Your powers, my sweets," she cackled. "You're nothing without those powers!"

"No!" I yelled. "I'm not giving them away!"

"There can only be one problem-solver for the Creepy pastas, and that's **_me_**!" her voice screeched, like nails on a chalkboard.

She crawled up to me, taking out some sort of broken tree limb. _A wand,_ I realized. _If I get hit with her sorcery, I'm toast!_ I then looked over my shoulder, seeing Jack there, sword out and ready to go.  
"Help!" I called to him. "Help me!"

"I'm on it," he called back.

He then raced around behind the witch. He changed back into his normal self, still with the sword in hand; ready to be stabbing it at any villain. His normal self looked pretty awesome with a sword, hands down.

"I think you better stop," he called at the witch.

She turned around to see Jack, only to give a surprised screech.

"No, not you," she screamed. "Not you. Anyone but you!"

"Now, leave her alone!" he told the witch.

"What? You're going to save her? You're going to save your _sibling_?"

"Uh, what?" I asked. "Sibling? Are you out of your mind?"

"Oh, you two don't get it, do you?" she asked. "When Jack was alive, he was your missing brother. He ran away from home at a young age, right around when you were five. Much like your father, don't you think?"

I blinked, dumbfounded. _Jack is my __**brother**__?_ My mind questioned. _Wait a minute… Jack Skellington is my brother? Holy Crap!_

I could see Jack's jaw dropped, and I knew he could tell we were both thinking the same thing.

"Go on," the witch told him. "Save your little half-sister. I know everything and anything about Creepy pastas, let alone families."

She then got a chance to gab ahold of me. She took out her wand and shouted some type of weird language. I was shot with something, getting electric jolts through my body.

"That's it," the witch cooed. "That's a good child. Now, to take care of the other one…"

"No!" I screeched, but could barely talk.

I then used my magic and shot flaming snow at her. I then felt my head get weary. I knew I was having a headache, and that I will probably be in pain for a little while, but that didn't matter. I just have to save Jack! The witch was hit with the flaming snow, and she fell to the ground. Jack then was about to take the sword and stab her, but she disappeared out of plain sight. Jack went to grab Masky and E.J., until I felt myself begin to sway back and forth.

"Oh, goodness sakes!" he retorted, coming over to grab me. "Let's just hope nothing else happens to you!"

We were at the door, and just as we hoped, Masky and E.J. were there waiting for us.

"Oh, jeez, what happened?" Masky gasped.

"She got hit with her sorcery," Jack answered. "We got to get her somewhere safe, and quick!"

"Let me take her," E.J. said, but I didn't feel Jack pass me off into the other boy's arms.

"No, I can take her," he told them. "I'll be fine."

"You sure?" Masky asked.

"Of course I am," was the reply.

I then felt myself being carried down the hill. I honestly didn't know what to think. My mind was stiff from the headache and all I could think of were the witch's words. Could Jack really be my half-brother? Was she just messing with us? I didn't know what to make of it. Clearly, Jack didn't either. I felt my body sway as we walked, and then my mind started to go crazy. I could see things that weren't there, and I was starting to hallucinate. My words began to slur, too, so I could barely speak.

"What did that witch do to ya?" Masky asked me.

I tried to answer, but clearly I couldn't even talk. The sorcery was almost too strong for me.

"She's defenseless," E.J. told him. "She's going through almost like a sickness. This is not the real spell, for these are the side affects."

"Oh, great," I managed to barely say.

I then began to hallucinate so bad that I almost believed it was 'Nathan' carrying me rather than Jack. Masky turned into 'Ricky' and E.J. became 'Greg'.

"Oh, man, this is getting bad," one voice said, which I couldn't tell who was who anymore.

"Her eyes are going black!"

"Her symbol is glowing!"

"Oh, goodness, her legs!"

I tried to grip myself, trying to make sense of everything. I tried to speak, but my voice was as lost as a needle in a haystack. I then found it for a bit, getting a few words out.

"I feel dizzy…"

I then saw as the image of 'Nathan' looked at me with kind eyes, and I blacked out.

**Chapter Twenty-Eight**

_Finally, a Relative!_

I woke up to the slow swaying and a bit of pain in my head. I looked up to see trees and a pale sky. I couldn't remember anything other than Jack carrying me down the hill. _Oh my gosh!_ My head screamed. _I wonder if they are alright. Masky, E.J., and most of all, Jack! Is Jack okay?_ All I could really do was hope at this point. I also realized the numbness in my legs, especially right below the kneecap.

"Where am I?" I finally asked aloud. "What happened? Am I dreaming?"

"No, you're not dreaming," a friendly voice joked.

I realized I was riding on someone's shoulders. _Wow, it's been a long time since I've been given a piggyback ride,_ I thought. _The last time I could remember being on someone's shoulders was the last time my dad took me to the forest…_

"You sure are quite," the voice said again. "You don't have brain damage, do you?"

"I hope not!" I tiredly laughed. "That's the last thing I need."

"That's the last thing _we_ need," the voice corrected.

My mind then became more alert. I looked down just to see whose shoulders I was riding on. I had to blink a couple of seconds before I could believe that I wasn't hallucinating again.

"Jack?" I asked. "What am I doing on top of your shoulders?"

"You'll see when I put you down," he replied. "Can't carry you, at least not the whole way. This is a lot easier."

"Um, okay then," I yawned.

Okay, I honestly thought I was in an odd dream. First, Jack Skellington so happens to be my half-brother. Now I'm getting piggyback rides by him? This has got to be the weirdest day in my life!

"What do you think?" Jack asked. "Does that apple tree look like a good resting spot?"

I looked out to see the huge tree with plenty of shade under. I replied a simple "yes," and we headed over. As soon as we were right against the tree, I was put down and laid against the bark of the tree. I began to stretch, awaking myself, and getting me more alert. I then stretched for my feet, only to find nothing there. I looked down to see my legs totally gone, kneecap down.

"What the heck happened to my legs?" I screeched.

"That's what the magic did to you," Jack answered. "I'm going to go back and give that witch a piece of my mind!"

"You don't have to do that," I replied. "If anyone's going to go back, it's me."

"And how do you suppose you get there if you can't walk?" he asked.

"I have an idea," I thought out loud. "Go find me some branches, and really sturdy ones, too. Get about 10 at the least."

"On it!" was his reply before disappearing off into the woods.

I took out the nice roll of duct tape out from in my pocket. Good thing I always have it! I keep it with me at all times, since it seems like we always need duct tape when we never have it. The tape was a bright blue, of course, and had little clouds running through it. Jack came back in no time at all, with huge branches. I snapped off some extra twigs from them and started to duct tape them around my legs, making sure they were comfortable.

"Oh, I get it," he said. "Homemade legs! You must be into crafts…"

"Ah, sometimes," I answered. "Only when I really have to."

I was soon done taping the fake legs on, making sure they would be sturdy. I gave one last tape around the sticks, making them solid stilts.

"Let's take them for a test run!" Jack joked, helping me to my feet.

When I finally stood, I was a lot taller. Heck, I was as tall as Jack! I began to walk around, grateful that I still had my knees, and was able to walk. I only fell once, only to have him catch me and for me to blush.

"Try it again," he told me. "You were so close!"

I got up, and began to try and walk, my head down so I can see where I was going.

"What are you doing with your head down? You're a beautiful girl and you know it! Now, raise that head of your high!"

I blinked a bit. _Whoa, hold on here, _my mind said. _Did he just call me __**beautiful**__? Only 'Nathan' calls me that, and that's barely ever!_

I took a deep breath and looked up. I then took a step, then another, until I was walking.

"There ya go! You're doing it!"

"I am? Hey, yeah! I am! Ha-ha!" I smiled. "Looks like I'm great with stilts after all!"

I began to laugh. What else was there to do? I was stunned and surprised, and not just because I could walk with sticks. My mind was overflown with thoughts, to the point where I just had to lie down and think, and that's exactly what I did. My legs were getting tired, too, and I needed to save my energy for the trip back, wherever we were going.

"Say," I asked. "What are we going to do now? Go back to that witch?"

"Are you kidding?" Jack laughed. "The only thing she'll do is make it _worse_. I think we should go to Gallager now, for he's the only one that can do anything."

"Shouldn't we have gone there _first_?"

"He's not good with medical stuff. We're only going to him now to see what advice we can get."

"Oh, okay," I replied. "As long as we can get this fixed…"

"Of course we'll get your legs fixed," he answered. "I won't let you go legless forever!"

I then began to think more. _What if I am stuck like this __**forever**__? What if I'll be crippled for the rest of my life? What if… What if we can't bring Slendy back?_ My mind was overflown with 'what ifs' and to the point where I just got to get some answers. I just wanted everything to be okay again! Is that too much to ask?

"Hey," Jack asked me. "Do you think that witch is right? Do you think we are siblings?"

"I don't know," I answered. "She could be lying for all I know. It'd be quite a coincidence if it was!"

"Then, if she's right, then doesn't that mean you're dating your cousin?"

My jaw dropped. I then tried to think about that for a couple of seconds. _Is that right? Am I really dating my cousin?_

"I don't know…" I nervously answered. "I don't think so. I'm only your sister when you're alive, and your only Slendy's cousin when your dead, or at least I think that's how it goes…"

"I think you're on to something," he said. "Yeah… that makes sense… I was only part of their family when I died…"

_Wow_, I thought. _This is really confusing. I wish everything were easier to explain…_ My thoughts were interrupted by a small sound. I couldn't tell what it really was, but it almost sounded like someone's voice.

"Do you hear that?" I asked.

"What?" Jack asked back.

"I thought I heard something…" I trailed off. "Like, like someone was here…"

I stared out into the forest. The sound grew louder. I saw the shadow of someone coming for us. When it was closer, I could make out the person and notice what she was saying.

"Jack? Jack? Oh, where are you?"

"Sally?" Jack called back, looking strait at the person.

I almost felt like it was a reunion. I stayed by the tree as Jack ran towards his girl. I knew it'd probably be good to just stay back.

"Jack, where were you?" Sally asked him.

"We had a little problem, that's all," he replied.

"That's all? Jack, town's not even there anymore, let alone the people!"

"We're figuring that out," he answered her. "We just ran into a little problem…"

"A little problem, huh? And what problem may that be?"

"Uhhh… my cousin being sort of in a coma…"

"WHAT! Jack, that's terrible! I take back everything I said," she apologized.

"And he's the only guy around that knows how to fix this," he explained.

"Not true," I joined in. "I have some ideas, too, ya know!"

"Oh, I didn't know she was here," Sally said. "Um, who's she?"

"My cousin's girl," Jack answered. "Who also happens to be my half-sister."

"Oh, well, isn't that something," she commented. "You having a little sister. Who would've guessed?"  
Jack just shook his head, and I began to come out of my hiding spot. Apparently, being his little sister meant I could get away with just us being by ourselves. _Ha! Now I can have an excuse when anyone asks! But, will that be enough of an excuse? Ah, what's the point, there's many excuses to use!_

"Anyways," Sally continued. "You are going to fix this, right?"

"After finishing some things before it, then yes," Jack replied.

"Don't worry," I assured her. "We'll get this done as soon as we can!"

"Well, alright then. Now, to find my way home…"

"Are you sure you want to go back?" Jack asked her. "After what you said?"

"Maybe the bus hideout might be best for her," I thought out loud. "Will that do?"

"Perhaps," he commented. "We should take her back now."

"Is my truck still there?" I asked.

"To be honest," Jack shyly said. "I had Masky and E.J. drive the truck back…"

"You let those two take our only transportation home?"

"What else was there to do? You can't drive under these conditions!"

He was right. In fact, he was so right that I couldn't think of a good comeback for it. I just shut my mouth and nodded, thinking of how to get out of here.

"My key!" I finally said. "I still have my key! Now, all we need is a door…"

"But there's not any building for miles around," Sally told me. "How are you going to get a door?"

"It's simple," Jack laughed. "If we can make her legs, then by golly, we can make a door!"

My face brightened up. That was one of the best ideas he had all day! I even thought out how we were going to do it. It's very simple, really. Jack still had the sword he found, so all we needed was a big enough tree to carve a door out.

"How about this apple tree," I asked; pointing to the tree we were just under.

"That'll do," he replied. "Now, to make a big enough door…"

He took out his thin sword, stabbing it into the trunk of the tree. After carving out four sides, he then created the knob and the keyhole under it.

"I hope this works…" I thought out loud.

I shoved the key into the keyhole, making it a perfect fit. The carved-out door then turned into the simple portal, and we looked at each other.

"Maybe I should just go," Sally said. "You seem to be in need of rest…"

"I know I can keep going," I told them. "Really, I can!"

"Maybe she's right," Jack told me.

He then whispered something in her ear, making her giggle and nod.

"Oh, of course. I completely understand. You two have fun, now!"

I was confused by her words, but I didn't bother wondering what they meant. She then stepped through the portal, and she disappeared.

"Why didn't we join her?" I asked.

"We do need rest," he told me. "And you had a long day. Give your legs a break."

"Oh, alright," I sighed, leaning up against the tree.

I then began to plan out what to do tomorrow. _So, we go to Halloweentown, then to the portal to reach to Foxville, then to Gallager for the advice. We probably need Foxadore for this, and maybe Prowler, too._ I then heard the slightest sound of whistling. It was a simple tune, and ne I knew well. _I have watched that movie too many times,_ my head told me. _Guess Jack's used to the song…_

"Got a song stuck in your head?" I asked.

"How'd you know?" he asked me.

"It's pretty obvious when you're whistling," I told him. "I happen to know the tune."

"Well, I figured you _would_," he laughed. "From what Slendy told me, you're a bit of a NBC movie freak."

"Well, I have a reason to," I said. "I always watched it with my Dad around Halloween and Christmas. It was almost like a tradition…"

"Every year?"

"Yep."

"Doesn't it get old, though?"

"Nope. I actually enjoy re-watching it. Even during when it was just my mother and I."

I was truly being honest. It was fun to watch every year, since I happen to find it amazing that its just Claymation. I even love to sing along to the songs when no one is around. I then felt myself grow tired, since it was late in the evening. _How far did he carry me to get here?_ I wondered. _Am I just dreaming, or is this real? Am I really next to one of my childhood icons?_ I then began to yawn. I don't know why I began to get tired all of a sudden. I looked over to see Jack, now in his disguise for some reason, standing up with his sword in one hand. Someone was coming towards us. I then looked again, only to find it not someone, but _something_. I had to stare really hard to see what it was.

"Is that a bear?" I tiredly asked.

I had gotten no answer, as Jack was frozen in place. The bear was huge, and I could also make out three little cubs with her. This wasn't good. This wasn't good at all.

"Just… just stay back," he stuttered. "We're dealing with something huge here…"

"Yeah, I can see that," I said. "Should I change into something and scare it off?"

"Is that going to work?" he asked me. "I don't know if anything can scare off this bear."

"I have an idea!" I exclaimed. "I learned this in a camping class once. You have to calm the bear down and stay still."

"Uh, and how do you suppose we do this? What do we say?"

"Not say," I told him.

It took all the courage that was left in me to sing. I have no idea why I decided to do this, but I guess it was all I could do. I barely sing, ever. Well, I barely sing in public. I began to sing a simple tune, one mostly like a lullaby.

"Oh, sure, like that's going to work," Jack nervously told me. "How is this going to help us?"

I didn't answer. Instead, I kept thinking of what words to use. I then blinked, thinking of exactly what song to use. Of course, I sing the words to it, but it was still really calm. The bear then looked strait at us, and left.

"Huh, who would've thought my song would work," he gasped. "I guess you were right."

"Are you kidding?" I laughed. "I'm usually always right!"

"Usually?" he asked. "So you're sometimes wrong?"

"Barely."

"I will have to remember that…"

Again, we sat back down by the trunk. Jack started to hum the tune again, and I began to whistle along. Whistling turned into humming, humming turned into mumbling, and soon, I was singing my heart out until I ran out of words to sing. I was still tired, and I began to slowly close my eyes. I then started to sleep against the bark of the apple tree, with Jack still humming in the background. It didn't feel weird at all, since he was in his disguise now. I then kept listening to the sweet song in the background, noticing he was actually singing. There was a bit of word changing in the background, as I had caught on. I then realized that it became a lullaby. I then drifted to sleep by the last few words.

Oh, there's an empty hole in my heart

That's waiting for something to start

The pain from fighting aces in my bones

When it will stop, no one really knows

**Chapter Twenty-Nine**

_Back to Foxville_

The Lament really put me to sleep. In fact, it put me so asleep that I didn't even realized that I was moved into a different position. I then felt something drop on my head. I woke up, looking at the apple now in my lap. But that wasn't the only thing on me. The skeletal hand was lightly on my arm that crossed over my stomach. I followed the arm up to Jack, who happened to change back at one point. I was literally up against him. _Okaaaaaaay, this is weird._ My mind nervously said. _Since when was I moved like this?_ I then looked to see the snow covering the ground. _I guess it was snowing when I fell asleep, hence the fact of why I'm so close to him. But why did he change back?_ I then tried to get out of the grasp, successfully doing so without waking him up. I then picked up the apple that was in my lap and started to eat it, making it my breakfast for the day. It wasn't long before Jack got up and did the same, yet I never questioned the position I was in when I was sleeping.

"So, I guess we'll leave once we're done here?" I asked.

"If you have the energy to," he answered.

"After that sleep, I think so. My energy should be good."

I kept on biting away at the fruit, knowing the food will help, too. One there was nothing left to the apple but the core; I threw it behind the tree and got out the magical key. The carving was still there from the day before, ready to go.

"Alright, I'm ready!" I smiled.

"If you say so," he said. "Well, what are you waiting for? Put the key in!"

I jabbed the key into the carved-out hole. I thought of the bus hideout right away, knowing that it's the safest spot to go. I turned the key, and the portal was opened. I didn't even question it, as I walked strait in. We were teleported strait to the bus, knowing that this is our safest spot to plan.

"Oh, you're back!" Sunni cheerfully said, her fox ears perked strait up. "How'd it go?"

"To be honest," Jack answered. "It went pretty well, besides the fact that we didn't find a cure and Crystal lost her legs…"

"What?" she yelled. "What happened to Crystal?"

"Let's just say that Slendy was right," I sighed. "The witch did this to me. Now we have to go to Gallager to get some advice!"

"Should've done that first," she told us.

"Well, we couldn't," Jack said. "Gallager doesn't do medical stuff. That witch was the first thing that came in mind!"

"At least she sort of told us some things," I squeaked. "Now we know that I have to stay away from her and that I have a half-brother…"

"You do?" Sunni squealed. "Who is it?"

"The one standing next to me," I answered, pointing to Jack. "Going off of what she said to us…"

"Wait, so you're telling me that you two are related?"

"Apparently," he said. "Who would've guessed?"

"Anyways, I have to get ready to go," I told them, and ran back to the mansion for some fresh new clothing.

So, after I was done getting changed and had a backpack full of things, we were ready to go.

"Oh, wait," I said. "We're going to need Foxadore, right?"

"Oh, right," Jack answered.

"I'll send Rocky to get him," Sunni told us. "He's right outside, burying the rotten meat."

I had to keep myself from gagging, but once she came back inside, my stomach was already over it. Rocky came back in no time at all with Foxadore right behind him.

"So, you're telling me that you want to see my father again?" Foxadore asked. "And that you two are half-siblings?"

"Yep," both Jack and I answered simultaneously.

"Well, I'm not going to question any more," the fox said. "Let's get this show on the road!"

We left the bus, heading out towards the holiday trees. It took no time at all getting there. Again, we jumped back down the Halloween portal, taking us to the graveyard. We were sprinting all the way there, reaching the portal in Town Square at no time at all. Foxadore set it all up quick and easy, and we were off to the other dimension. When the bright, white light faded, we were back in the meadow, right outside the forest.

"Okay, just follow me," Foxadore told us. "I'll take you there through the shortcut."

"And that shortcut is…" I questioned.

"Strait through!" he answered. "C'mon! We have no time to lose!"

We ran all the way through the meadow, dodging the tall grass that was there. The red and yellow flowers painted the ground, making it harder for us to dodge them. By the time we reached the end of it, we were so tired that we couldn't move. My 'legs' got stuck in the mud one too many times for me to count. The tall grass hit us so many times. The flowers were now destroyed thanks to our feet. We didn't care, though, for we were on a quest. Yes, that's all this has been: one giant quest to save ourselves from my brainwashed friends. Anyways, we were just at the edge of the meadow, when we could just make out town.

"We better keep going," Foxadore told us. "We just got to!"

The fox was using his wings now to keep him going, but even so, he was still going slowly. I felt like I was going to faint. Jack was literally panting. Good thing we had to stop for Jack to change back into a human, though. If we hadn't, I would've passed out!

"Foxadore? Is that you?" a small, childlike voice called.

"Tim?" the fox answered. "Tim! Am I glad to see you!"

"Where have you been?" the voice asked, now being recognized as a small boy fox.

"We ran into a little problem," Foxadore answered. "It shouldn't be too much longer to solve this…"

"Oh, okay then," Tim commented. "I guess I'll go back to helping Lily…"

"Okay then," Foxadore replied.

The little fox left, running back like a small human boy. I watched as Foxadore stared back at him, smiling.

"Ah, what are we going to do with him?" the fox asked himself.

"And who was the fox?" I asked.

"That was Timothy," Foxadore answered me. "An orphan from the Government Zoo. It's a long story, really."

"Oh," was all I replied.

"Well, we best be on our way!" the fox said, charging strait towards one of the houses, with Jack and me close behind.

When the three of us reached the place, the fox barged right inside, letting us do the same. The twin sisters were home, resting on their own beds. The mother was sweeping dust of some shelves, and she greeted us with a warm "hello!"

"Oh, hey Mom," Foxadore answered her. "Where's Father?"

"Upstairs," she answered. "Let me grab him for you. Seems important with your friends here."

The mother ran up the stairs, only to come back down with a black fox in a dark cloak.

"Oh, I see you brought some friends," the father said.

"They want your help," Foxadore told him.  
"Listen, sir," I said. "We are in great trouble. Our friend is paralyzed, and we tried to find an answer through someone else, which resulted in me losing my legs…"

"Oh, I see that," he said, staring at the duct-taped sticks that make up my 'legs'. "Whom did you go to for help?"

"The Witch of Sorcery, sir," Jack answered. "Since it's one of the Creepy pastas that are in trouble…"

"Well, the leg answer is easy," Gallager said. "I have the answer to that. Your friend is the problem."

"Can you fix my legs first?" I asked.

"Of course, my dear," he smiled. "Just let me get the book…"

The fox ran back upstairs, only to come down with the magic book in his paws. He opened it up, flipping through the pages until he found the right one. I then felt the duct tape coming off and the sticks falling under me. I then started to feel my legs again. When the spell was complete, I had my legs back.

"Oh, thank you so much!" I cried.

"No problem," Gallager replied. "Now, about your friend…"

"Yes, what can we do about him?" Jack asked.

"Seems to me like you have to go back to that witch," Gallager answered. "You must give up something in order for her to help you."

"She wanted my powers," I told him. "That's something I can't give up!"

"Is it?" the black fox asked. "Is it something you just _can't_ give up to save you friend?"

"He's not just my friend," I mumbled, not saying a word more.

Gallager understood what I meant. He stared at me, knowing that this was hard. If I give away my powers, I might be killed. But if I don't, th love of my life will forever be stuck the way he is.

"I see," Gallager replied. "I understand that this is hard. But what's more important?"

I sighed, and then said, "You're right. You're absolutely right. I guess he's more important…"

"Now, let me give you something," he said, and took something from out of the book. "This is to call on the witch to come to you. Just give it a few rubs, and she should come in no time soon."

"Oh, thank you," I smiled. "I wish I could repay you…"

"No need," he laughed. "It's my duty to help others."

We left the house with Foxadore, saying our goodbyes. We hoped back on the portal, getting teleported back to Halloweentown. I then looked around to see the town almost destroyed. I felt horrible, seeing this ruckus going on. I then realized that someone was coming close. It was Jeff! I knew we had to get out, and fast if we wanted to live.

"Oh, look whom I found," he laughed. "I guess this should be an easy kill!"

I then decided to use my powers to stop him. I took the knife out of his hand using my levitation powers, and then threw the knife far away from him.

"Oh, you think that will stop me?" he asked. "Well played, but I don't need a knife to defeat you…"

He then started to charge strait at us. I began to scream running away with the others behind me. I didn't want to hurt him, since it wasn't his fault he was like this. It was those villains, and they are controlling Gemm.

"We have to leave, now!" I cried. "We have to get Slendy back!"

"I think we can all agree on that!" Foxadore replied, screaming as well.

In fact, we were all screaming. This was major, and horrifying. We needed to leave this place, pronto. I then felt the presents of others, as we started to be surrounded by all of the Creepy pastas that were brainwashed.

"Now, tell me, how are you going to get out of this one?" Jeff joked with me.

"I'm sorry," I whispered.

I used my flaming snow to shoo them away, letting us run to the portal to take us home.

"You'll never get out here alive!" Jeff called after us.

"What's your plan?" Jack asked me.

"To run like crazy until we get home!" I answered.

"I agree on that," he joked back. "Let's go!"

We ran until we reached the portal, giving us a few minutes to get out of the mess we made. The white light surrounded us, but this time, I could see Jack with me. He was still in his human form, and he looked at me, too. The whiteness lasted really long during this time. Why was this? I have yet to found the answer. When the whiteness faded, I looked at the object Gallager gave me. Foxadore left us to go back to the others, and it was just Jack and I again.

"Wait," he told me, grabbing my hand. "Wait until we get to the mansion. We need Slendy with us to get this witch to accept!"

"And we're going to need the shard to get her to agree, too," I sighed. "Okay, I'll lead the way…"

We started to walk down the hill, leaving the ring of trees. It wasn't long before we headed back to the mansion. We had store Slendy back in his room, leaving him on the bed. It was the only place we could think to leave him, since we were all horrible hiders.

"There's the house!" I said. "C'mon, I'll race ya!"

"You're on!" Jack laughed.

I was in need of something to cheer me up, and the race did just the trick. I ran as fast as I could, letting the wind wisp in my ears. I smiled a bit, too, feeling like a small child again. I knew this whole place was falling apart, but who the heck cared? I had to let it go, forgetting about it and worrying on the most important things. It was easy now, since I actually found another relative. I actually had family again, and I was so happy to find another sibling. I actually won the race, smiling away from victory.

"Ha-ha!" I smiled. "Victory is mine!"

"Not yet, sis," Jack laughed. "We still have a long way to victory yet!"

I couldn't believe he called me sis! That means we are really siblings at heart! I then wiped away the thought, heading inside the huge house. I guess the mansion seemed huge due to the fact that it was the only house around! We headed into the room where Slendy hid on the bed (well, not really hid, but lay) and I took out the thing Gallager gave me. It was like a tiny conch shell, but it was closed off and has glitter all over it. I rubbed it a few times, only to find out that Gallager's words were true.

**Chapter Thirty**

_Power Loss_

She was young again, and wasn't nasty like before. She was actually surprised that I commanded her here. The again, she's probably even more surprised that my legs were back.

"So, what do you want?" the witch asked.

Good thing I grabbed the shard before rubbing the 'conch', for I handed it to her. I then told her she could have it if she listened to my whole speech. She agreed, and I began.

"Okay, listen lady. I have had enough with you! Will you just fix him if I give you my powers?"

"Oh, what a wise choice!" she screeched like a crow. "Put your powers in the shard so that I may fix your friend."

"Fix him first," I told her. "Then I'll give you the payment."

"Oh, fine!" she said. "But if you refuse, I'll put him back the way I found him!"

She then took out the wand, touching it lightly on Slendy's chest. Soon enough, he turned back into 'Nathan', looking at me with wide eyes.

"'Nathan'!" I cried. "You're back!"

I hugged him tight. I was balling my eyes out, so happy to have him back.

"And, where was I again?" he asked.

"You were paralyzed!" I answered him. "And now your back! You actually missed a lot!"

"Hold on, missy," the witch cackled. "My fee?"

"Oh, right…" I sighed.

I touched the shard, and all my magic drained into it. All, but the magic on my crystal.

"Thank you for your cooperation," she joked.

"Hold on," Jack stopped her. "Do you know how to solve this problem going on?"

"What? The problem with the villains terrorizing the town?"

"Yes!" he said. "Do you know how to stop it?"

"Well," she started. "I happen to know what you need to do. The girl with the evil powers is being controlled. Stop the controller, and you stop the madness. The controller's name is Zackary."

"Zack's the controller?" I asked. "I have to stop him?"

"Not just stop, kill!"

"Kill?" I gasped. "But… but…"

"No buts," the witch told me. "Kill him, and all will be solved. He's around the woods somewhere. Oh, yes, I feel his presence close…"

"Oh, thank you so much," Jack thanked her. "You can be on your way now."

The witch nodded, and disappeared out of sight. I let go of 'Nathan', letting him off the bed and able to stretch.

"You gave your powers up for me?" he asked.

"Of course," I sighed. "I had to. I would be nothing without you!"

"I took care of her well," Jack told him. "Just like you would want me to do!"

"I knew you would," 'Nathan' laughed. "But was she alright?"

"Besides losing my legs," I told him.

"What? How'd that happen?"

"The witch," I answered. "She also told some good news…"

"And what's the good news?" he nervously asked.

"That apparently Jack's my half-brother…" I replied.

"Really?" he said, stunned. "I would've never guessed. Then again, you two are alike in many ways. Does this mean I'm dating my cousin?"

"Oh, no!" I laughed. "I am his sister when he's alive. When he's dead, he's your cousin. So, I'm not your cousin."

"Oh, and how'd you figure that out?" he asked me.

"It just came to me," I answered him. "Now, we have no time to lose! We have to find Zack and destroy him. I don't really want to, but many people are depending on my to!"

"That's my Crystal," 'Nathan' joked. "C'mon, we have to go on a scavenger hunt!"

We ran outside, going behind the house to look for the evil boy. I had to search really hard, but yet I couldn't find anyone. I felt like this was going to take forever.

"Hey," 'Nathan' asked me when we were searching. "You're necklace didn't lose power, right?"

"No, I don't think so," I answered.

"Great," he told me. "For that's your only weapon now, besides Jack and I."

I laughed a bit. He was right, since they were as powerful to me as a superhero had an identity and a name. I kept searching, but yet found nobody.

"We should get the others," I told them. "Then they'll help us!"

"Did somebody say 'others'?"

I turned around to see two masked boys and two girls with them. I smiled to see my collage friend.

"What are you guys doing here?" I asked.

"We told the girls what happened," Masky answered. "And we've come to help! Thought you could use some Creepy pasta power to kick some butt!"

"Awesome!" I smiled. "We're searching for the controller. His name is Zack. We have to find him and I have to kill him."

"Why are you the one killing?" Emily asked me.

"Because," I answered. "I have to same my friend!"

The others nodded, not wanting to argue.

"Now, let's go kick some bad guys butts!" Laura smiled.

We split up into groups. It was literally BF and GF together, besides the fact that Jack went with 'Nathan' and I.

"Okay gang," 'Nathan' told us, almost sounding like some Scooby Doo character. "Let's stick together, and look really hard!"

"That was the original plan," I told him. "But whatever you say, captain!"

The captain reference was an inside joke from a couple of Halloweens ago. The Creepy pastas and I dressed up like pirates, 'Nathan' was the captain and I was the Pirate Princess. That was a lot of fun…

"HELLLLLP!" I heard one of the girls scream.

"Laura?" I tried to call out.

There was another, and another, until all four of them had screamed and went dead silent.

"This can't be good," Jack said.

We quickly chased after our friends, only to find the same things that happened to the others. Masky and E.J. were now brainwashed, Laura turned into a calico cat, and Emily was a bat.

"Gemm's power is almost too much!" the little bat squeaked. "We have to do something!"

"Did you see Zack at all?" I asked them.

"No, we haven't!" the cat said. "But I have a feeling he's very, very close!"

"Thanks," 'Nathan' told her. "That should help."

"C'mon," I told them. "Let's go before one of the boys tries to kill us!"

We ran to the forest, looking everywhere for at least _someone_! We finally decided o take a break, rethinking out a plan.

"We have to split up!" 'Nathan' said.

"What?" Jack exclaimed. "Are you kidding me? What id sh- I mean on of us gets hurt?"

"You're worried about me, aren't you?" I asked him.

"What? No… no I'm not…"

"Oh, c'mon now," 'Nathan' laughed. "She's not going to fall for that!"

"Okay, maybe just a little," he smiled.

"A little?" both 'Nathan' and I said at the same time.

"Okay, okay. She's the only relative I have, and I don't want to lose her!"

"Same here," I told him. "You're all I've got! I'm not used to having nobody related to me."

"Same here," 'Nathan' told me. "How do you think I feel with two idiot brothers?"

"Not as much as being the only kid," Jack added. "But hey, we all get through it."

They were both right. No matter how hard this was going to be, we can get through it. I then realized something. It was something really, really important.

"Hey, um, if I kill Zack, then won't I become immortal because I'm a Creepy pasta?"

I was a Creepy pasta, since I got initiated a few years back.

"Oh, yeah…" 'Nathan' remembered. "Are you okay with that?"

"I guess so," I answered. "For you guys are all the family I need!"

After getting tightly hugged by the both of them, I then began to figure out the plan.

"Okay, Jack, are you fine with being by yourself?" I asked.

"As long as you're not alone, I'm fine," he answered.

"Okay, then 'Nathan' and I will start looking. Call us if you find him."

We split up, walking separate ways. I was alone with 'Nathan' now, and sure glad of it. It's been a while since I've talked to him.

"Do you think I'll be fine?" I asked.

"Of course!" he answered. "You can do it, and I know you can!"

"Thanks," I commented. "The one thing I needed right now was support."

"Of course," he said. "Good luck out there. I believe in you!"

He was always the most supportive guy I have ever met. I thought he was going to say something else, but he continued to walk with me, hand around my waist. I felt protected, and I felt secured.

"Hey, I think we're getting close," he told me. "He's got to be around here somewhere…"

We were right on the edges of the pine tree part of the forest. I looked around to see nothing but trees from miles on end. I then looked hard, until I saw something move.

"He's here," I whispered to 'Nathan'. "I just saw him."

"I see him, too," he whispered back. "Want me to grab him for ya?"

"Yes, please do," I joked.

In no time at all, 'Nathan' switched back to his normal self, using the tentacles from his back to grab whatever was moving. We were right, for wrapped in the extra 'arms' was Zack. He was then harshly dropped, and Slendy turned back into a normal human.

"He's all yours," 'Nathan' told me. "Good luck!"

He then left, and it was just the villain and I.

**Chapter Thirty-One**

_The Battle_

"So, we meet again," Zack cruelly smiled.

"I'm here for victory," I told him. "I'm here to get my friend back."

"Oh, and your little cat, too."

"You're controlling Zimmy, too?"

"Not only those two, but all the other friends that are under Gemm's power!"

"And that's why I'm here," I said. "Now, surrender or **die**."

"You aren't going to kill me, are you?" he asked. "Since when do you kill?"

"Since now," I answered.

"Then lets battle," he smirked. "Last one standing wins…"

"Oh, you think there's going to be a winner?" I laughed. "Nobody can win in the game of Life, and I'm not talking about the board game…"

"Bring it on!"

I turned into a huge raptor thanks to my crystal. That necklace has to be one of the best gifts I've ever gotten. I began to try and crew the bits out of him, but he kept dodging me. I tried a dragon as well, and he still dodged me. Oh, if only I had my powers!  
"Give up," Zack told me. "You can't win!"

"Yes she can!" a voice said from behind.

I turned to see the boy that looked like Jack Frost; only he had no snow powers.

"Jack!" I called, turning into a human again.

"Here, catch," he said, throwing me his sword. "Now, go and win the battle!"

"Thanks, bro!" I called out, and turned to the battle.

"Oh, you think you can win by having a sword?" Zack asked.

"What do you think I would do with this?" I asked back.

"You know, you always have to be prepared…"

He pulled out a long sword, looking much like mine. I held out my weapon, ready to fight.

"This must not be easy for you," Zack laughed. "Killing your friend from the past, and for what, to save a few lives?"

"Not just my friends lives," I told him. "But for every victim you've hurt and used magic on!"

"Oh, how heroic!" he sarcastically said.

"Take that back!"

"Make me," he laughed.

I shoved the sword right in front of him, only to have the same due to me. The only difference was that he didn't miss me. I was now wounded and fighting for my life. I was so close to crying from the pain, so close to crying from the battle. _So close,_ I thought. _But not close enough!_

"You think just because you have powers you can defeat me? Well, you're wrong," I shouted. "I'm just as powerful as you are, even if I don't have any true powers!"

"What are you saying?'

"I'm saying that you can't win!"

"That's not true," he said.

"Or, is it?" I joked.

I knew he was right behind me. I still could see his ghostly figure, tentacles sprawled out around me. He knew that I could see him, and he knew what I was thinking. I held out my sword, and dropped it.

"I don't even need this," I said, kicking the sword away.

"Now, this is just too easy!" Zack laughed.

"Or, is it really?" the voice behind me said.

Sure enough, Slendy popped out behind me, helping me in the fight.

"Oh, you think you can just have a friend help you?" Zack asked. "Well, two can play at this game!"

With his free hand, he gave out a long whistle. I wasn't sure what to expect. I then saw the person coming behind Zack. He had brown hair, a blue shirt and purple pants on. He also wore sneakers. The scary part was, his eyes were as white and bright as the light that surrounds me when teleporting.

"Herobrine…" Slendy murmured under his breath.

"Oh, it's _you_," Herobrine said. "The most famous of them all. I applaud you for the work!"

"Oh, my good friend," Zack told his helper. "Those two are trying to kill me!"

"Are they now?" Herobrine asked. "Let's return the favor! I'll take care of dear ol' Slendy. You get the gal."  
"It's a deal," Zack said.

I watched as the ghost boy slammed my partner against a tree. I felt the rage going again. I grabbed the sword, and tried to run for the boy, when I thought of something. _You can't kill a ghost. Go for Zack!_ So that's what I did. I ran for the real enemy. I knew that saving the others meant more backups.

I ran strait for Zack. I didn't care if his sword was out and ready to fight. I didn't care that if I kill him I would never see my parents again. I didn't care that if I failed, I would die. All I wanted was to get everyone _free_.

"With sword in one hand," I began to chant. "With magic not there. With friends by my side, I say, let those be free!"

I took ahold of the sword, ready to attack. Zack didn't know what to do. Everything happened so fast. Herobrine was slammed into the ground, Slendy tried to join my side, Zack was dumbfounded, and here was I, jumping into the air, sword in both hands, coming right down on the enemy. It was pretty brutal, yet awesome at the same time. For the first time in a while, I felt quite free. I don't really know why stabbing made me free, but I guess it's because I was killing an enemy. I was killing someone that was pure evil. I was killing the one person behind destroying the place.

"Goodbye, forever!" I cried, stabbing the sword into his chest.

Yes, I had done it. I was victorious. I was the winner in this battle. Zack fell to the ground, hurt and scarred for the few minutes left in his life.

"I'm sorry," I told him. "This had to be done."

"You know what," Zack said with his last few breaths. "I forgive you. You have every right to do this. Go forth with being good. Don't do what I did. Be… good…"

He then fell to the ground, dead. I almost felt like I was going to cry. Slendy had turned back into a human, joining me.

"You did it," he smiled. "You did it!"

I watched as Herobrine began to shake his head.

"What happened?" he asked us. "I felt like I couldn't control myself."

"That's because you couldn't," I told him. "You were being controlled."

"That explains a lot," he laughed. "Sorry for almost killing you."

"Ah, it's nothing," 'Nathan' replied. "It's not your fault."

We walked back to join Jack, who ended up hugging me, happy that I was alive.

"Are the others okay?" I asked.

"See for yourself," he told me.

I looked back to my friends. Everyone was there. All the girls that were turned into animals were mostly back to normal, besides the fact they had animal ears and tails. The Creepy pasta boys had their brains back, and were happy to see me. I was even surprised to see they found Jeff and all his friends.

"Where's Gemm?" I asked them. "And Zimmy?"

"Oh, no," Ben said. "We forgot about them!"

"Well, let's go and find them!" I said. "Who's with me?"

"WE ARE!" everyone cheered.

"Lead the way, miss," 'Nathan' joked.

"Oh, ha-ha," I sarcastically said.

"Hey," he told me. "At least I didn't call you a lady again"

"Yeah, you better not!" I laughed.

All of us began to march down in search of the cat and my best friend. We eventually found them in the heart of the town, where all the major shopping centers are. The stores weren't even there anymore. Actually, nothing was really left in the town other than ruins.

"Gemm!" I shouted. "Zimmy! We're here for ya!"

"Crystal?" a voice said. "Crystal! Thank goodness you're alright!"

It was Zimmy's voice. He came running out, purring and happy as ever.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," he apologized.

"It's okay," I told him. "It's not your fault! Where's Gemm?"

"Oh, right," the cat said. "She's in trouble. Oogie's got her!"

"Not again!" I cried. "Well, good thing I've got backup. Lots and lots of backup!"

"Then follow me," Zimmy said.

The whole group of us followed the cat down to the ruins of the place. I then saw the sack man, Ruby, Mark and the Proxy hunters with poor Gemm caught between them all.

"Now, you're ours!" Ruby told her.

"You made a commitment!" Mark reminded her.

"Let me go!" Gemm pleaded.

"Not on our watch," the sack man told her. "Like we said, you're ours!"

"I don't think so!" I called out. "It's my turn to fight!"

"Oh, looks like the Proxy is back!" Ruby laughed devilishly. "I wonder what she's gonna do with us?"

"Maybe she'll just tickle us to death!" Mark joked.

"You know," I said. "After defeating Zack and killing him, I think it's only right to do the same with the rest of ya!"

"Wait," Ruby stuttered. "You killed Zack? And only you?"

"Yep," I answered. "Oh, and I brought a little help with me…"

My friends came out from behind me. Of course, 'Nathan' was on one side and Jack was on the other. Having the two human protectors isn't so bad after all.

"Kill them!" the sack man shouted. "Kill them all!"

"Oh, I don't think Crystal will let that happen," Jeff said. "In fact, lay those hands off my gal!"

It was Jeff who ran out to Gemm first, with the rest of us following. We fought until we could fight no more. Most of them were mortally wounded; others had just a few scratches before they ran away. I had 'Nathan' with me to my right and Jack on my left. Who knew the three of us was such a good team?

"You fools!" the sack man hollered. "I'll be back. You'll see!"

He and all the other villains fled the scene, and it was just my friends and I. Gemm was the one who came up to me.

"List, I'm-" she started.

"Don't," I interrupted her. "It's not your fault you went evil."

"That's not what I was going to say," she giggled. "I was going to say that I regret ever having powers."

"Well, now you're not the only one without them," I told her.

"What do you mean?"

"I had to give some of my powers up to save 'Nathan'."

"You gave them up?" she asked, stunned. "But how will you-"

"I always have backup," I told her. "And you will, too."

We all joined the fun. We went back to the mansion to have a huge party. I was laughing as I hung out with all my friends, but I hung out with Jack and 'Nathan' the most.

"I can't believe we're all kind of related," I sighed.

"That explains why we all look alike when we're human," 'Nathan' said.

"And how our eyes match," Jack added.

"That's what I meant," 'Nathan' corrected him. "Anyways, I'm just glad to be here with you guys."

"Me too," I smiled. "Me too…"

**Chapter Thirty-Two**

_The Conclusion_

Many months have passed, and it was soon time to go back home for the summer. I couldn't wait to see what the guys were doing for my birthday. I can't believe my B-day is only one day away! The guys and I hopped in the car, ready to go.

"Can we seriously put Jack on the roof?" Jeff asked me.

"What? No!" I said. "You can go on the roof if you want to."

"Nobody's going on the roof!" Slendy said. "Besides, we have enough room back there."

Okay, first off, we got the Creepy pastas to be accepted for who they are at collage, so they stay their usual way most of the time. Second, we got Jack to join us at collage. He usually stays a human due to fan girls. Man, can those girls be catty. Third, I saved enough money to get a new car. It's a big van, too, so it has plenty of space for all my friends.

"Then let's get this show on the road!" Jack said. "Oh, who's calling shotgun?"

"Me, of course," Slendy answered. "I'm always shotgun. Just like Crystal always drives."

"Exactly," I laughed. "And it's also my car."

"Good point," Jack said.

After everyone was in his human form, we headed out. It wasn't long before I passed the "DO NOT ENTER" sign. Yes, our town is now a place not to enter. The damage is so bad that they can't fix the place. The only thing that's still in shape is the forest. When I drove right in front of the mansion, I parked the car and had everyone get out.

"Let's unpack," I told them.

"Sure thing," 'Greg' said. "Let me just help move Gemm's stuff into my room…"  
"You're seriously not," 'Nathan' asked.

"We seriously are!" Gemm answered. "Don't worry, I'm sleeping in a separate bed."

"Oh, thank goodness," I sighed with relief. "That's the last thing we need."

"No kidding," Jack commented.

"C'mon guys," Gemm said. "Let's unpack!"

After getting everything back into its rightful place, I started to write some more songs. Not only were they tunes, but had lyrics too.

"Oh, you're writing again, sis," Jack said as he came in. "Just checking in."

Okay, so Jack had also moved in. He has a new heir to the throne, so he doesn't really need to be there anymore. Sally was going to keep their kid under control and homeschool him. I say it was a smart choice.

"Yeah, I'm writing again," I smiled at him.

Still in his human form, he came in and joined me. It wasn't weird at all, since I'm used to it.

"I like this tune," he said. "What do you call it?"

"I don't know," I answered. "Have any ideas?"

"Hmmm…" he thought. "How about 'The Woods'."

"Not bad," I answered. "I kind of like that title."

"Mind singing it?"

"Not at all."

The lyrics were pretty simple, but yet so eerie and beautiful.

Out to the wood far away from my home

To the places where I always roam

I have found a house up upon a hill

Abandoned, alone and it gives me the chills

There, he came and greeted me in

Not an expression on his face

In fact, he had not a face at all

But I now call home this eerie place

"That's good," Jack told me. "Did you base it on here?"

"Yes," I answered politely. "I thought it made good lyrics."

"And it perfectly does!"

"You think so?"

"Of course I do!"

"Hey, thanks."

"Oh, my pleasure," he said. "You deserve good encouragement!"

I blushed a bit, smiling as I did so.

"Hey, Crystal, you joining us for surfing?" Gemm called from the other room.

"Of course!" I called back. "You coming jack?"

"Me surfing?" he thought. "I guess I could give it a try."

"Oh, you'll love it!" I told him.

The two of us ran out of the house, joining the other three.

"Ready to go?" 'Nathan' asked me.

"Yep," I answered. "Let's go!"

We spent a long, beautiful day at the beach. We surfed until sundown, having the time of our lives.

"We should do this more often," I told them, floating on my surfboard in the water.

"I know, right," 'Nathan' said, siting at the other end of my surfboard.

"I wish every day could've been as fun as this when I was little," Gemm sighed.

"Don't we all," 'Greg' answered.

The others then started to float to shore to get ready to leave, while I stayed in with 'Nathan'.

"You know, I did really miss you where you were paralyzed a while back," I told him.

"I did too," he smiled. "It was like I was in a weird dream and couldn't wake up. I'm sorry you had to give up your powers for that."

"Are you kidding?" I asked. "I would give up anything for you!"

We stared at each other, and then leaned in for a wonderful kiss. Oh, the sweetness!

"Come on, you lovebirds!" 'Greg' called to us. "We can't go home without someone to help us get home!"

"Oh, coming!" I called back out.

"Guess we should get going," 'Nathan' sighed.

"Just remember, there's always a great day just around the corner!" I told him.

"True," he answered. "But I don't want to ruin this moment with you…"

I eventually paddled out way back to shore, and we got dried off and back in the car. After driving all the way home and getting washed off, I went in the kitchen to grab some food. After eating a small dinner and a huge dessert, I went to bed to wait for my 20th birthday. I then woke up the next morning. I walked out into the kitchen to start making breakfast, only to find breakfast already made.

"You need a break today," 'Nathan' told me. "Today is your day to relax."

"Aw, thanks guys," I smiled. "You even made bacon!"

"We never forget the bacon," Jeff told me. "Nor the pancakes or waffles."

"So, what are we doing today?" Gemm asked me.

"Hmmm…" I thought. "Maybe we should do something fun. But what should I choose…"

"Well, let's see," Jack thought. "We did surfing yesterday, so that's off the list."

"We haven't done cart racing in a long time," 'Greg' added.

"Yeah, that'll be fun!" Gemm said. "Hey, why not make today a day where we do stuff from our past?"

"You mean like doing every fun thing we did when we were kids?" I asked back. "Actually, that sounds awesome!"

So that's what we did. We spent the whole day cart racing, hanging out, putting back up the hideout and having a fun time. Soon enough, it was almost sunset. It was a gorgeous one, too, with making the sky a pretty purplish color.

"Come with me," 'Nathan' told me, dragging me out of the hideout. "We'll be back, guys!"

"Have fun!" one of my friends shouted back.

We ran around the woods until we reached the top of a hill. It wasn't just any hill, for it was the place where I met 'Nathan'. It was good to be back in there, and I found the tree where Jeff's knife was thrown into, because I found the huge slice in the bark.

"Why did you want me here?" I asked him.

"It's a day to come back to good memories," he told me. "And you were the best thing that ever happened to me. Without you, I would be nothing!"

"You're just saying that," I laughed.

"No, I'm not!" he said.

_He is serious, isn't he? What's going on?_

"Listen, Crystal," he told me, taking my hand. "This is kind of hard to say…"

He then knelt on one knee, my hands still in his. He took something out of his back pocket, showing the small box. I couldn't stop blushing. My fairytale was coming true! The box opened to show a beautiful ring, with blue diamonds and a huge embroidered bow on it.

"Will you-" 'Nathan' began.

"YES!" I screamed, interrupting him. "OMG! YES!"

I hugged him tightly, overwhelmed with happiness and joy. I couldn't believe it! I'm engaged! This is all like a dream come true! We ran back to the hideout, dancing and skipping from being so happy. We busted through the doorway, screaming our heads off.

"What?" Gemm asked. "What is it?"

"Guess who's getting married!" I squealed.

**Epilogue**

I am very happy to spend the rest of eternity with the one I love. I can't even express the feeling I have now. It's almost like my heart was set free, and not by the prince, but by the monster behind bars. I couldn't even believe that I would have a beautiful daughter, too. Her name is Jude. She looks exactly like me, but has strawberry-blonde hair. She loves to go to school at the new town built right outside the neighborhood. She enjoys going on fun adventures with Jack and Jeff, who she considers her uncles, and is a bright girl as well. I say, she's been having a good childhood.

Now, about the others. Gemm and Jeff did become husband and wife, but no kids of their own yet. Jewel has found a man that also had fox ears and a tail just like her. Emma, Sarah and Fern all got married to their BF's, too. But, to be honest, Slendy and I have made out to be best couple ever. The town is still abandoned and empty, but we don't really care. We enjoy our lives just the way they are, and we don't care if we are considered monsters.

And now, sadly, I must end here. But, a story never has an ending. Oh, no, a story can go on forever, just like heredity. But, it's not the writer's job to go forth, but simply _you_. So, continue to create the story, and I hope you'll find yourself in the mist among a good story.


End file.
